Collecting the Stars
by AvocadoGoddess
Summary: A collection of one-shots and drabbles for TLC Shipweeks!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Sorry for the really late posting! I'd been dragged to the movie theatre to watch Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Surprisingly, I did enjoy it. Anyway, I'll be posting these fluffy drabbles every day (life permitting) for the TLC Shipweeks. Enjoy!** **-AvocadoGoddess**

 **Disclaimer: TLC belongs to Marissa Meyer.**

* * *

"We'll be like detectives!" Winter had told him, practically glowing.

"Sitting in the corner of the galley all night on the hard floor isn't really what I pictured detectives do," Jacin said with a laugh. He found that he laughed more easily, now that Levana was gone. Now that he didn't have to worry about whether or not everything he did would be used against him.

"It's a _stakeout_ ," she informed him, "and it's because _someone_ keeps sneaking some of the pastries that Scarlet needs for Thorne's birthday. Also they keep eating Wolf's tomatoes."

Jacin rolled his eyes. "Stars help us. You want us to stay awake the entire time?"

"Oh, come _on_ , Jacin."

"Fine," he acquiesced, shaking his head resignedly. "What have I gotten myself into?"

Winter just laughed.

* * *

The Rampion was unnaturally silent at night. No noises other than the sounds of the machinery of the ship reached the two curled up in a corner of the galley.

"Don't pull the blanket!" Winter poked Jacin in his ribcage and gently tugged the sheets they'd brought from his bed.

She received only a sleepy mumble in return.

"Really, Jacin. You're falling asleep already?"

He flipped over, facing where she was propped up against the wall. "Everyone else has been asleep for at least two hours. Excuse me for succumbing to my human instincts."

There was a brief silence while Winter considered this. "All right," she said, "but if you hear anything, you'd better wake me up. Or else." Having issued this warning, she slid down under the blankets and arranged herself in a comfortable manner.

"Good night, Princess," Jacin's voice came from somewhere to her left. She couldn't tell for all the the blanket surrounding her.

They might have gone a bit overboard with those.

"Still calling me 'Princess'?" she asked.

"Old habits die hard."

And then, silence.

* * *

"Ah, shoot! Spades, what on earth?"

In Winter's haste to sit upright and get a look at the intruder, she planted her elbow firmly on Jacin's stomach. It was a total accident. Obviously.

"Stars, Winter," he gasped for breath, "what was that for?"

Winter was too busy laughing at the sheepish would-be-thief.

"Thorne?" she said in disbelief. "You know those pastries are for _your_ birthday?"

"Did you seriously camp out here to find out?" he shot back. "And wait," craning his head to get a look at the disgruntled Jacin, "you dragged him along?"

Jacin scowled. "For the record, it was her idea."

" _Obviously_ ," said Thorne. "In what world would you think of doing this?"

Winter poked Thorne in the chest. "Stop goading him," she said with faux-solemnity, "You're just trying to distract us from the real issue."

"As punishment," Jacin put in, "I think we should get Scarlet out here and-"

Thorne interrupted, but not before paling visibly - probably at the thought of a furious and sleep-deprived Scarlet yelling at him. "I have a better idea."

* * *

"All right," Scarlet demanded. "Which of you did this?"

She brandished her arm at an empty pastry box. Several of the Rampion crew flinched away, not in the least because she was holding a sharp-looking knife in the same hand.

"Careful with the knife," Thorne cautioned, "they can, you know, cut stuff-"

He was swiftly silenced by a glare.

"Does no one here care to tell me anything?" she rolled her eyes, turning back to her rising bread dough.

Winter grinned, first at Jacin, then at Thorne. Her first was met with a slight eye roll and smirk; the second was met with a gleeful grin to match hers.

 _Mission accomplished._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello, everyone! Just a quick disclaimer: everything here (except the writing, of course...) belongs to the wonderful Marissa Meyer. Also, I was trying to find a way to wrap this one-shot up, so I (of course) decided to use the cheesiest possible ending. Trust me. The ending is like a bowl of macaroni and cheese without any pasta in it. Thank you to the incredible people who reviewed my previous drabble (...and wavingthroughawindow for reassuring me that this ending would not be too cheesy)! Reviews are the hot chocolate that keeps writers going through the snowstorm of shipweeks!**

* * *

True to form, Winter's placid smile remained unchanged when confronted by a scowling, contemptuous ex-thaumaturge. Jacin could feel a surge of irritation rising as the tone of the idiot's voice became akin to the noises one would use to talk to a five-year-old. But Winter merely tipped her head to the side gently, nodding as she proceeded to address his complaints.

It had been four months since Winter had had Garan Linh's device surgically attached to her spine. Four months since the operation, four months without hallucinations, and yet people still behaved as though Winter was incapable of complex thought, as though she didn't know anything, as though she was still _crazy_.

Jacin hated it when people used that word. When they used it and mocked her - mocked her for making a decision they were too cowardly to make. For choosing to be something more than what Levana had wanted.

A soft exhale dragged him to the present. Winter glanced at him with a slightly sardonic half-smile and laughed.

"At least he wasn't yelling."

His lips twitched upward, almost imperceptibly. "Or rolling his eyes every time you made a suggestion."

"Or gesturing wildly and banging his hand on a wall every time he interrupted."

"Stars, don't even remind me of that," Jacin scowled.

Winter twined her fingers with his. "You know I don't care what they think of me," she said softly.

"It's just... upsetting," Winter smirked slightly there, but he continued, "when all of them discount you because you had the nerve and the moral compass to do what was right while they were groveling like-" he stopped. He didn't know how to finish the sentence.

Winter wrapped her arm around his waist, shrugging.

"They'll come around. You can't worry about every single thing someone says about me, you know. I'm fine."

"I know," Jacin glanced at her, "I know you can take care of yourself, but-"

"And," Winter said, speaking over him, "I think it honestly hurts you more, when people talk like that, than it hurts me."

A pervasive, stifling silence fell into place. At length, Winter asked a question, one word, actually, but one with so many repercussions, one that would open up so many bandaged wounds if Jacin answered.

"Why?"

There was a moment of almost melancholic quiet.

"Because," he started, "it reminds me of when we were both just jumping through all the hoops Levana set for us and I couldn't do anything for you. I hate that feeling-"

And here he stopped, looking at Winter.

"You know," he said to her, "when it feels like all you can do is stand there and try not to let anything they say affect you."

"Feeling like you can't do anything," she trailed off.

"Yeah."

"But we _did_ do something," she pointed out, "and even if it's not perfect, and it'll never be perfect, and _we'll_ never be perfect together, well-" she paused, shrugging, "it's getting better. You can't fight my battles for me. You have to trust me. Trust that I'm better and stronger than I was. You're not a guard anymore. You don't have to be my guard," she said with a slight smile.

"Then what do you want me to be?" he asked.

"My husband," she said - more for the reaction that anything else.

A pause.

" _What?!_ "


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Oh my goodness. This has been a crazy day, and I'm so thankful I finished this just in time. Again, thank you to 1221bookworm and wavingthroughawindow, my lovely (and only :P) reviewers. I felt like Winter needed to come to terms with her mother's death and the situation Sol and Evret were put into by Levana, so ta da! A one-shot was born. I hope you like it! Reviews are cold lemonade on a hot summer day.**

* * *

The graveyard was curiously empty. It was located in a small corner of Artemisia, one where not many would look.

It made sense, of course. Artemisia's aristocrats did not like to be reminded of their own mortality.

The headstones were modest: carved of milky white stone, they lay in neat, perfectly aligned rows, as if even in death, the lower classes were to be kept as strictly in line as they were in life. For this was a graveyard of the middle class. Wealthy enough to pay for a spot, but not enough that they would be allowed a place in the aristocracy's mourning grounds.

Solstice Hayle's headstone was simple, Winter noticed. It was the same milky white as the others, with an empty space next to it, but-

"The carvings," she breathed, "look, Jacin."

Carved into the stone were snowy scenes that were practically fairytale-like in their whimsicality.

"It's _winter_ ," she said, struggling with a sudden tightness in her chest. Jacin pulled her closer - the two of them stood there for a while, till Winter said:

"Let's go visit my father."

* * *

"Stars," Winter breathed, "I had forgotten that it was so..."

There was a pause, while she searched for an adjective.

"Ugly?" Jacin suggested.

Winter laughed. "Yes. Definitely."

"Grotesque?"

"Disgusting, honestly."

The headstone was ornate and gaudy, in the style preferred by many of Artemisia's upper class citizens. It stood in sharp contrast to the elegant simplicity of Solstice Hayle's.

"She didn't even let him be buried with her," Winter looked away.

"Well..." Jacin trailed off, "did you really expect her to?"

"I guess not," Winter sighed.

Jacin squeezed her hand. "You could always ask Cinder to move the body."

"What?"

"To move your father's body to be near your mother's."

"That's a good idea," she gave him a small smile. "I think he would have liked that. To be close to her, even after they were both gone. But I'd also like to get to know my mother a little more. I think I'll try and find people who knew her. Maybe they can tell me who she was."

* * *

The woman who now ran Solstice's old store was young. She looked to be only a few years older than Winter, but her slim fingers seemed to fly over the fabric. She was embroidering flowers in what looked like gold thread onto a gown of shocking violet. The woman lifted her head as Winter neared her work table, and then stood up. She inclined her head.

"Princess Winter."

"Good morning," Winter smiled. "I don't believe I've ever been here. What's your name?"

"Lyria, my princess."

"That's a beautiful dress you're working on. You're very talented, to be able to get the stitches like that," Winter brushed her hand over the fabric. "I remember I tried to take up embroidery once. It was a disaster."

"Thank you," Lyria smiled, "and I learned from one of the best."

"My mother," Winter murmured.

"Yes," she said, searching Winter's downturned face. "My own mother ran the store along with her."

Winter said nothing, deep in thought as she ran her fingers of the delicate thread.

"Would you like to talk to my mother, Princess?"

Winter looked up. "Yes, please," and then she smiled. "And please - call me Winter."

* * *

"You look like her, you know," Lyria's mother said.

"I wish I could have gotten to know her," Winter sat down across from her.

"She was one of my closest friends," the woman told her, with a bittersweet smile on her lips. "She was so excited for you. She said you'd be the sweetest child to ever live."

Winter sighed, closing her eyes. "What was she like?"

"Incredibly kind," Lyria put in. "She passed away when I was ten, but she never lost patience with me. She taught me how to sew and embroider, you know. She had this way of talking to you: you felt like she really did care about everything you told her. I remember I had an old stuffed horse that I ripped when I was four years old. All of the stuffing inside started to fall out. I had begun to cry, when she took me aside and told me she'd sew it back together. I'm so sorry you never got to know her. You would have loved each other."

"Thank you so much for this," Winter said to the girl who knew her mother like she never would. Some cold and lonely part of her took comfort in the fact that, at least through people's memories, her mother lived on.

* * *

Evret Hayle's grave lay in the empty space next to Solstice. His new headstone was done in the same style as his wife's. They were beautiful together.

Through her tears, Winter smiled at her parents, finally reunited.

Then she took Jacin's hand, and together, they slowly walked away, leaving Evret and Solstice Hayle to their long-awaited peace.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Oh, man. This was so much fun to write, especially all of the Cinder and Thorne banter and the movie night. Thank you so much to the brilliant wavingthroughawindow, my partner for this crazy collab. We persevered through our ending struggles and writer's block to produce our final Cresswell AU! We both deserve cupcakes! To all of you amazing readers, I hope you like it! (Can you tell who wrote what...?) Reviews are popcorn on movie nights with friends!**

* * *

It wasn't snowing, but for SoCal, Winter and Iko had decided that heavy rain was close enough. And so Cress found herself on a (very comfortable) sofa along with four of her closest friends, settling in for a Marvel movie marathon.

This, inevitably, led to a discussion about the hotness of each Marvel guy respectively, which in turn led to quite a bit of pillow-throwing as the took sides, and then, as was likely to happen, a full-on pillow war, which (unsurprisingly) Cinder and Scarlet won.

"I still think," Iko said, when relative peace had been reinstated, "that Steve Rogers is way hotter than Thor."

"He is pretty cute," Cress agreed.

This was met with several dirty looks.

"What? It's obviously the truth!" Iko protested.

A pillow was violently thrown.

"Oh, shut up," said Cinder, the thrower of the pillow, "I can't hear the movie."

There was silence for an entire minute.

"I have an idea," Iko announced.

"Iko!" Cinder shushed, grabbing another pillow. Iko took refuge behind Winter.

"But it's a good idea!"

"Loki is onscreen! Is your idea more important than Tom Hiddleston?!"

Cress hid her grin behind the bag of popcorn she was hoarding.

She loved these maniacs.

Onscreen, Loki was taunting Nick Fury: "It burns you to have-"

His voice was abruptly cut off when Iko pressed pause and then, foreseeing an attempt made by Cinder to regain control of the remote, promptly sat on it.

Cinder gave a sigh of frustration.

"You know what we should do?" Iko asked once more.

"Hmm," said Scarlet with mock-thoughtfulness, "maybe... watch the movie we agreed to see?"

"Touché," Iko grinned, "but other than that."

The debate continued, but Cress tuned it out in order to enjoy her snacks in peace.

"Cress! What do you think?"

The girl in question blinked.

Winter seemed to have joined the conversation (whatever it was about now) with considerable enthusiasm, and now she and Iko were looking expectantly at her.

Cinder rolled her eyes and began scrolling through her Tumblr feed.

"What do I think about what?" Cress asked cautiously.

"About letting us set you up with another guy! It's been six months, Cress," Iko nudged her in the rib cage.

"Ugh, please," Cress snorted, "after that guy I've lost faith in all men. I've given up on dating. Let me die a crazy cat lady."

"One bad experience and you give up?"

"Literally every time you try to set me up with someone, they turn out to be completely awful."

"She's right," put in Scarlet, "remember that one who tried to explain all the dishes on the menu in the French restaurant to her, even though she speaks French and was an exchange student for a little bit? He didn't know anything about the country."

"Or the one who got drunk right before the date?" asked Cinder sardonically.

"Or," said Cress with an air of finality, "the one who _introduced me to his girlfriend who was sitting in his car when he came by to pick me up?!_ "

Winter squeezed Cress's arm reassuringly.

"Okay, those ones were pretty bad," Iko agreed. Cinder scoffed derisively.

" _But_ ," Iko continued, "this one will be way better. I promise."

Cress made a skeptical noise and returned to her popcorn. To be honest, she'd always wished to meet someone like those princes in fairy tales, the ones who were charming and selfless and heroic, but the real guys she had dated so far had been a far cry from them.

"Who are you thinking of?" Cinder finally took the bait and asked.

Iko grinned devilishly. "I'm so glad you asked! The Captain, of course."

Cinder's brows flicked upward and Winter let out a giggle of hilarity.

Cress glanced from one to the other. "Should I be worried?"

* * *

Cinder let herself and Iko into Thorne's apartment with the key she had stolen from him five months earlier. Classic rock music came from the direction of his bedroom. Pausing in front of the closed door, Cinder glanced at Iko.

"I pray that he's fully clothed."

With that, she tested the handle, finding it unlocked. "Thorne? Iko and I are coming in."

"This is my private man-cave!" he protested. "You're not allowed."

"Don't lie, Thorne," Cinder said, pushing open the door and walking in. "We all know that I'm much more manly than you are."

* * *

"You want me to do what?" Thorne asked.

"One date," Iko cajoled. "One fancy dinner."

"Winter and Jacin will be there as well," Cinder said, "in case anything goes wrong."

"Excuse me?" Thorne scoffed. "A date with me never goes wrong."

"Oh, please," Cinder rolled her eyes.

"Can we get back to the topic?" Iko pushed her way into the argument brewing. "It's going to be a really nice dinner with Cress."

"What sort of a name is Cress?"

"Better than Carswell," Cinder muttered.

"Hey, don't diss the name!" he protested.

"Anyway, Cress is one of our close friends. She's really sweet and hilarious. I think you'll like her!" Iko interjected. "Please, Thorne," she said, noting the skeptical look on his face. "Cress has lost faith in all men after the terrible dates she's been on. You need to redeem your gender!"

Cinder snorted. "I think we've got the wrong guy for the job."

Iko smacked her. "Stop antagonizing each other. But yeah, please don't flirt with every pretty girl you see."

"Basically, don't do anything you would normally do," Cinder suggested.

"Excuse me? There is a _reason_ they call me a relationship expert!"

"Yeah, an expert in relationship failures."

"Shut up."

Iko took a deep inhale in. "Both of you, be quiet. I don't know when I became the responsible one around here, but we need to figure this out. Thorne, will you go on the date with Cress?"

Thorne sighed. "You're lucky my Friday evening is free."

"Took you long enough," Iko scowled. "You better not mess this one up, Captain."

"Since when do I ever mess things up?"

Cinder opened her mouth for a retort of some kind, but Iko had slipped out of the room before she could hear it.

* * *

"Hey guys! What's up?" Thorne said, striding up to their table.

Cress's first impression was that he was incredibly handsome, with that chiseled jawline and dreamy blue eyes. But experience had taught her that when looking for a soulmate, looks meant very little. Still, she actually hoped he would turn out to be a somewhat decent person.

"Jacin! You actually dressed up? Dude, you look great!" He attempted to pull him into one of those bro-hug things, but Jacin crossed his arms and pivoted slightly.

"Great to see you too, Thorne," he said.

Thorne sat down in front of her. "Ah, you must be Crescent, my date! Spades, Iko and Cinder really know how to pick them."

"Call me Cress," she said, plastering a smile on her face. She wasn't sure she liked his attitude very much. From what she could tell, he seemed to be rather cocky and arrogant, and she certainly did not want to date another sexist douche who indulged in mansplaining every five minutes.

"Winter, you're looking gorgeous as always… did I mention I _love_ your dress - OW! Jacin, there was no need to poke so hard!" He looked indignant.

"Stop flirting with my girlfriend," Jacin said, his voice dangerously low.

"Okay, okay, jeez," he said, throwing his hands up. "I wasn't really flirting that hard…" He trailed off when he saw Jacin's expression.

"Anyway, a Thai place! This is going to be delicious! Surprisingly, they have chocolate mousse here. I've heard it's to die for…"

"I've heard that, too," Cress admitted, looking down at her plate. "It said so in the New York Times."

"Ey, you read the New York Times too? High five!" He held his hand up, and Cress slapped it after a moment's hesitation. He _did_ read prestigious newspapers. Maybe he wasn't all that bad.

But the rest of the evening passed in a haze. Thorne was only interested in talking to Winter and Jacin, and even then it was _Ten Great Flights Made By The Amazing Captain Thorne._ He flirted with all the waitresses, servers, and even random women sitting on the tables next to him. Every woman who entered the room was flirted with except for her, his actual date.

The only memorable part of the evening was the food. It _was_ every bit as amazing as the Times had made it out to be. She wasn't able to eat Thai food often, but _stars_ , it was so good.

"Good food, eh?" Thorne asked her. She nodded. "You've been very quiet this evening. Normally my dates are giggling and blushing all over me."

"I guess I'm not the damsel in distress you imagined me to be," she replied coldly.

"What, did you imagine I was some sort of prince?" he said. "Because honey, you are going to be sorely disappointed." The words were casual, joking, but she sensed pain in them. Like maybe, beneath his cocky demeanor, was a man who didn't think very much of himself at all. It still didn't excuse his attitude, though.

She had no response to his words, and he had nothing else to say. She fell into an awkward silence, while he turned to Winter once more.

* * *

"What shall we have for dessert, ladies and gentlemen?" The server's voice pulled Cress out of her thoughts. _Dessert. Finally._ She released a breath of air she hadn't known she had been holding.

"One chocolate mousse, please," she said, smiling.

"I'll have one as well," Thorne said, grinning mischievously at the waiter. "By the way, did I tell you I _love_ your hairstyle? You look almost as good as me today."

"For you, sir, dessert will be on the house!" she replied, blushing, while Cress groaned. Why did he have to flirt with every single girl he saw, except for her? For crying out loud, she was the one on the date with him!

"I'll have a chamomile tea, please," Winter replied.

Thorne frowned. "Live a little, Winter!" he said. Winter shook her head, but Cress had to agree with Thorne. Who had _tea_ for dessert?

"Nothing for me, thank you," Jacin said, ever the epitome of the perfect gentleman. Thorne rolled his eyes.

"All right, two chocolate mousses and one chamomile tea," the server said.

"That's correct, gorgeous," Thorne said, yielding another round of blushing from her.

The waiter walked off, and Winter turned to Thorne. "Why did you have to flirt with her so much?"

"Hey, it got me free mousse," Thorne said. "Which, by the way, I'm giving to Cress. She doesn't have to pay."

Cress gaped at him. This whole date, he hadn't even seemed to notice her, and now he was giving her a free mousse?

"Thanks?" she squeaked.

"It was the least I could do. You haven't really said much this evening." He shrugged. "I figured you weren't enjoying yourself, which is probably my fault, seeing as I'm your date. I assume you haven't been charmed by me yet?"

She _did_ find him somewhat charming, rather handsome, _and_ not as heartless as she had first thought, but she wasn't going to admit that. "Well, thanks for the mousse," she said.

He leaned in conspiratorially. "I've heard it's to die for. Winter and Jacin are missing out."

"Me, too," Cress laughed. She glanced over at Winter, who was whispering something to Jacin and grinning impishly. Jacin, being Jacin, responded with an eye roll.

"It can't be better than Scarlet's lemon cake, though," Thorne said.

"Oh my goodness! You've had that, too? Scarlet's lemon cake is _heavenly_." She sighed. "She makes it for all of our birthdays."

"Wow," Thorne remarked, impressed. "I've only had it at Cinder and Iko's birthday parties. How did you two meet, anyway?"

"High school," Cress explained. "She was a couple grades above me, but Winter knew her. How about you?"

"Through Cinder," Thorne said. "To be quite honest, she still scares me sometimes."

" _Scarlet's_ not scary," Cress scoffed. "No more than Cinder."

"Cinder is terrifying!" Thorne protested. "She's blackmailed me before!"

"No doubt with good reason," Cress said, and she saw his face flicker. Was that _respect_ she had seen? No, it couldn't be… why would he respect her now?

"Here you are!" the server said, shaking Cress out of her thoughts. "Two chocolate mousses, one on the house! Plus a chamomile tea." She gave everyone the treat belonging to them, respectively. "By the way," she added, looking at Thorne, "I might be able to get you some deals here. Why don't you give me your number?"

Thorne suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "Uh, thanks, but I'd rather pay full price, you know, to give you guys business?"

"Oh. Okay." The server looked slightly disappointed and walked away, leaving Cress to wonder. Had he rejected her because of some obligation he felt to _Cress?_

Winter took a sip of her tea. "Delicious. How's your mousse?"

She stuck her spoon in and pulled it out, brimming with the creamy substance. "Almost as good as Scarlet's lemon cake," she sighed, "but not quite." It was every bit as amazing as the news articles had made it out to be.

"That good?" Winter looked shocked. "Can I try some?"

"Of course," Cress said, handing the mousse to her. Winter took a bite and let out a long sigh.

"That was marvelous," she said, handing it to Cress. "But you're right. It isn't as good as Scarlet's lemon cake."

"Toast?" Thorne asked her, holding up his cup, which was still full of mousse. "Oh, I see you've already started eating yours. Pity."

"It's okay, we can still toast," she laughed, holding up her cup and clinking it with his. "To more such meals like this!"

"Many more," he agreed, digging his spoon in. "Hey, I don't know what you're talking about. This is _better_ than Scarlet's lemon cake!"

"You clearly haven't had it in a while then," Cress said.

"I guess not," Thorne shrugged, "but it is delicious." She nodded, and they fell into an awkward silence. Well, not too awkward, she thought. There was still the mousse.

At length, he spoke. "Hey, uh, Cress?"

Hearing Thorne stumble over a word was like hearing Jacin laugh. "What?"

He looked at her, somewhat sheepishly. "I - I know this date didn't quite go the way you wanted it to. Can we, uh, try again some some time?"

"Yeah. Of course." The words tumbled out of her mouth before she had time to think. It _had_ been a mediocre date, at best. She wouldn't have considered a second date, had he not asked. She was sure he had felt similarly, so why was he asking? And why had she agreed?

Relief flooded his face. "I take it I am amazing, handsome, and charming then?"

"Better than chocolate mousse," she winked, finishing the last of her dessert.

"Cress, let's not say things we don't mean." He grinned.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned. It was Winter.

"Good date?" she whispered.

"Eh," Cress said softly, hoping Thorne wouldn't hear her. "It was okay. The food was delicious, though."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Winter said. "So no second date?"

"Actually… I kind of just agreed to one," she said sheepishly.

"Cress!" Winter said a little too loudly, then lowered her voice again. "Don't agree to second dates if you don't want them!"

"No. I - I think I actually want this." She wasn't confident in her own words, but maybe there was more to him than she had seen so far. She wasn't sure, but she was willing to give him a second chance.

"Okay, whatever you want! He does seem quite charming," Winter said with a wink, then she turned back to Jacin.

She turned back to Thorne and he said, "You were talking about me, weren't you?"

She thought about lying, but decided on a partial truth. "I've dated a lot of horrible guys. I was just telling Winter that compared to them, you're actually not bad."

"Only _not bad_!" he said indignantly. "I think I am more than _not bad_ , honey!"

Her eyes narrowed. "Don't _honey_ me. Just because I'm agreeing to a second date, doesn't give you the right to act like I'm your girlfriend."

He raised his eyebrows, and she thought she saw a flash of hurt in his eyes. She was about to say something, but before she could, she heard a slight swishing to her right. She looked over; Winter and Jacin had risen from their seats and were now kissing.

"Okay, Romeo and Juliet, let's get going. Cress and I are done with our mousses, and clearly Juliet is done with her tea."

"Drop the analogy, it sucks," Jacin growled, pulling away from Winter. He looked apologetically at her.

"Cress, it was a pleasure meeting you," Thorne held out his hand. "You have my number?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: AAAAAAAAAAAAAACK. I am so so so sorry! I had no ideas for this prompt, so I tried this and it didn't really work, but I didn't have time to change anything, so you're left with a terrible update that's less than 500 words. Pretty pathetic... I'm sorry! But tomorrow I'm doing another collab with wavingthroughawindow, so I already know it'll be way better than this. Reviews are puppy kisses and kitten nose-boops!**

* * *

Thorne carried his old military academy mementos around in an old shoebox, Cress noted. Most people wouldn't believe it was of any importance. Indeed, the box itself was unpretentious, a little worse for wear, and slightly warped by time.

Yet Cress saw, and remembered, how Thorne would place the decrepit container carefully into one of the Rampion's many easily accessible cabinets. How he would check to make sure nothing had broken after every (terribly executed, but steadily improving) landing. But she'd never thought to ask what it meant to him.

* * *

"Cress?" Thorne called her name, almost frantically. "Have you seen the shoebox?"

"The old shoebox?" she furrowed her brow. "I thought it was in one of the cabinets really high up in the galley? The one with the chocolates you've been hoarding?"

He turned to her with a sheepish look. "You knew about those?"

"There is almost nothing on the Rampion I don't know about, Thorne. You should know that by now. Did you think I wouldn't know because I'm too short to reach it?" Laughing, she climbed onto a counter and opened the cabinet. Sure enough, inside lay the chocolates and the shoebox.

"Never!" Thorne shook his head, but his laughter told a different story. "Thanks, Cress," he took the box from her and checked to make sure nothing had been broken.

Cress sat down on the counter, crossing her ankles and leaning against the cabinets behind her. "Thorne? Why did you keep your academy stuff even after you..."

"Became a military deserter and the most famous, adored, and handsome criminal on both Earth and Luna?" Thorne suggested, hopping up onto the counter beside her.

"Not exactly what I was thinking, but close enough."

"You know it's true," he grinned, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer. Cress leaned her head against his shoulder and folded her hand around his.

"Maaaaaybe," she said, stretching it out and savoring the sound of it.

"Well," he started, "I guess it was really the fact that I'd finally gotten away from my parents and their sparkling personalities," he made a face, "that made it special. I was pretty much free to do what I wanted, to a certain extent. It was one step closer to my kiddy dreams of being a pilot."

"Aww, how cute," Cress teased.

"You're the cute one here," Thorne joked, reaching overhead to grab the chocolates. "Time to find a new hiding place for these."

"Excuse me? I think I deserve chocolate just for putting up with you!"

"You know you love me," he grinned dangling a chocolate in front of her nose.

"Yeah," she admitted, "I think I do." She snatched the bag away from him. "And now, this is mine. And do you know what sounds really good? Watching a net drama in bed while eating your chocolate. Care to join me?"

Thorne laughed, slipping down off the counter. "Lead the way, shorty."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello, everyone! Welcome back to Day 2 of Cresswell! Here we have a nail salon AU collaboration with the incredible (as always) wavingthroughawindow. Thanks to rowaelinfeyrhys for the idea and WTAW for letting me help! I loved this idea so much, and loved doing all of the research for the different manicures. :) Thank you to all of you wonderful reviewers! And a side note: it seems like I have reviewed Collecting the Stars, but in reality, it was WTAW accidentally using my account. Long story short, I do not have direct access to my account, so she very kindly posts all of my writing for me. This is also the reason why I never review other people's stories. :( Someday, I hope to be able to do it all myself. In the meanwhile, know that I adore you and am so glad you take the time to review my writing! Enjoy!**

* * *

"Hello, gorgeous," a man said as he swaggered into the shop.

Cress' first thought was that he was a complete heartthrob. With that chiseled jawline and the dreamy blue eyes, she felt like the floor had been removed from under her feet. Her heart fluttered.

As soon as she thought this, another thought popped into her mind. _What is a guy doing in the salon?_ Men came to the nail salon she worked in once in a blue moon. Usually, when men did come to the salon, they were actors, who needed nice nails for shows.

Her job brought her a lot of interesting characters. Some were lovely people, like her good friend Iko (a different Instagram-worthy, brightly-colored manicure every visit). Some were more than a little eccentric, like the wealthy CEO Levana Blackburn (a blood red, glossy gel manicure every time, with her nails filed to stiletto points). And some were just incredibly ditzy, like Pearl or Luisa, two of the giggling girls who came in every few weeks (always some kind of high-end manicure, usually 3D or with airbrushed patterns). But guys... guys usually tended to avoid her store. She'd only seen a few of them so far, and even they had seemed eager to get out of the store as quickly as possible.

"Sit down," Cress said nervously, hoping her work station was clean. She gestured to the massage chair that was standard for all customers.

"Is that a massage chair? Ooh, baby!" The man's eyes lit up. He sank into the chair, pressing some buttons on the remote. "Aaaaaahhhhhhhh," he said, as the chair began to knead his muscles.

"What can I do for you today?" she asked, hoping he couldn't tell how nervous she was.

"Just - making sure my nails are perfect," he said, looking at his hands with genuine adoration in his eyes. "Gloss them up, file them, make them hand-model worthy."

"You an actor?" she asked, as she picked up her manicuring kit.

"Nah, I'm a communication coach," he replied casually. "I just like to stay neat, and look good."

"Well, I can say you're succeeding in your second goal," she smiled shyly, starting to file his nails.

He raised his eyebrows, giving her a heartstopping smile. She blushed. They fell into silence for a few minutes. She continued to file and clean his nails, while he succumbed to the massage chair completely.

"I didn't catch your name," she mused after a few minutes.

"Call me Thorne, honey," he replied. "I prefer to pretend the first name doesn't exist."

"You have piqued my curiosity," she replied, grinning. "So, Thorne, what is your first name?"

"Captain."

She narrowed her eyes. "No, really."

"I'm not telling you that!" he exclaimed defensively. "Besides, Captain is good enough."

"Okay, Captain," she grinned, "any preference as to nail shape?"

And just like that, she was back in her zone. After all, she was the manicurist and he was a (very, very handsome and charming) customer, and she had a job to do.

* * *

"Just the usual gloss-up?" she asked him.

It had been one month since her first encounter with Thorne, and since then, he had come in about once a week just to 'make sure his hands looked as good as the rest of him'. He always requested to have his nails done by her, to her surprise. She had to admit, though, she was enjoying his company.

"Maybe a little pinkening as well, this time?" He looked at her hopefully.

"Sure thing!" Cress said, grabbing a bottle of light pink nail polish.

She corked it open carefully as Thorne waggled his eyebrows at her. Aces, he was _so, so_ handsome. Every time she looked at him, he made her heart stop. She felt herself blushing harder with every second his gaze stayed on her.

"Here you - STARS! Oh my goodness, I am _so_ sorry!"

Too preoccupied with watching his eyebrows, Cress had fumbled the nail polish bottle and spilled it all over his shirt. Mortification rose in her, and color rushed to her cheeks. _What had she done?_

"I am so, so, so sorry," she rambled, grabbing a napkin and beginning to mop up some of the polish. "I'll do anything you want for you - if you want me to pay for your shirt, I'll do it, if you want a full refund for the manicure, I'll do it, if you want, oh, I don't know, a candlelit dinner with me, I'll even do that! Oh my goodness, I am so, so sorry…" He would _hate_ her now. The appearance-obsessed Thorne would consider this incident a sin, and would never, ever return to give her business again.

Thorne held up a hand. "It's okay. To be honest, I would have been offended if your reaction had been less extreme."

"Really?"

"What damsel can resist me?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows some more. This set off a whole new bout of anxiety.

"I'm so sorry," she repeated lamely.

"Hey, don't be sorry!" Thorne said somewhat emphatically. "I still look good, you know!"

"You do?" The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could think. She, of course, still thought Thorne looked incredibly handsome, but Thorne accepting the blooming pink stain on his otherwise impeccably clean shirt was surprising.

"That's offensive!" Thorne said indignantly. "I look good in everything I wear! It'll take more than a little pink to defeat me!"

"For sure," Cress said, internally sighing with relief. _He didn't hate her._ For some reason, those words made her feel happier than they should have.

"Now, shall we start on those nails?" Thorne wiggled his fingers.

"Don't make me spill the rest," Cress laughed.

* * *

"Cress!"

Cress, who was setting up for her next customer, looked up to see a breathless Thorne entering the shop. He was wearing a bright red baseball cap, a white striped jersey, and a pair of black workout pants. There were black streaks under his eyes. Surprisingly, he still looked heartstopping.

She groaned good-naturedly, waving at him. "You're one of _those_ people?"

"Hey, baseball is cool!" Thorne said indignantly, walking over to her.

"Red Sox?" she queried.

He nodded a little bit too quickly, looking rather frazzled. "Look, Cress, I know you probably have a waiting list fifteen people long -"

"Yup," she muttered. Looking over at the lobby, she saw about three impatient women glaring at her just for stopping to talk to him.

"-but I have to be at a Red Sox game in an hour and I need my nails done red! So is there any way you can accomodate me?" he finished, taking a deep breath. He frowned anxiously.

"A Red Sox fan, huh?" She grinned. "Personally, I've always been more of a basketball person."

She could see the tension pouring off his face. "Cress, I'd love to talk, I really would, but I have to go! I totally understand if you can't do my nails, but -"

Stars. This was such a far cry from the cool, collected Thorne she knew. And _this_ was what he was stressing about?

Without really thinking, she said, "Okay, Thorne, sit down. Let's see those nails."

"Thank you so much," Thorne sighed, collapsing into the massage chair and placing his hand on the arm rest. Cress quickly glanced at the lobby, where several ladies were now standing up, pointing at her, and screaming. Why was she agreeing to do this again?  
She waved her hand at them casually. "Thorne, I'm going to do this really fast, and it's going to be really sloppy. Otherwise, things could get messy with _those_ people."

"It's baseball, honey, it doesn't matter." He seemed to be back to his usual self.

"Did you really just say that?" She tilted her head, pulling out the red nail polish. "No undercoat okay?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm just grateful you're doing anything."

"Who are you, and what have you done with Captain Thorne?" she said incredulously as she started to paint hasty strokes of red on his fingers. "How come you can't paint your own nails anyway?"

"I _can_ paint my own nails! I'm good at it, too!" he protested. "I just… didn't want to create a mess!"

"I'm not doing much better on that count," she laughed as she continued painting his nails. She counted two red blotches on his fingers that were out of place. _So_ not her best work.

"Plus, I like seeing you."

The world fell from beneath her as she finished coloring the last nail. He came today partially because he liked seeing her?

"Done," she told him. He took her hand and grinned. "Thank you so much," he said, placing a fifty-dollar bill in her hand.

"Holy crap! This is way too much for what I just did!" she exclaimed.

"I owe you more, given the fiasco that's about to ensue," he admitted, gesturing again to the ladies in the lobby, who were now glaring daggers at him. "Oh, don't worry about me, I'll flirt my way out," he said, catching her worried expression.

It was probably all empty talk and flattery anyway, she told herself as he walked out. He was a social person, he liked any sort of company. There was no way on Earth and Luna that he could possibly like her.

* * *

The woman sitting in the massage chair (Luisa or Lois or something like that) had the unfortunate habit of talking volubly about herself nonstop. She had made herself comfortable, then said, simpering, "Oh, Crescent, I have so much to tell you."

She had then attempted to tell Cress everything that had occurred in her life since she had last visited. After the first few sentences, Cress had tuned her out, murmuring, "I see," and "Mmhm," every minute or so. She instead concentrated on getting her work (a pink-and-silver shellac manicure, with ballerina nails and airbrushed swirls) finished as quickly as possible.

That is, until she heard a very familiar name.

"-and Thorne is _moving_ , now of all times, with my new-"

"Excuse me?" Cress broke in. "Who's moving?"

Startled by the interruption, Luisa asked, "You know Thorne? Light brown hair, blue eyes, _gorgeous_ smile?"

Cress did indeed know that smile. "He's moving?"

"He is," Luisa affirmed. "For his job. All the way to the other coast."

She kept talking, but at that point, Cress was only half-aware of the mindless chatter. Her mind was on a certain blue-eyed, brown-haired Red Sox fan, far away from the manicure she was then giving.

* * *

"Okay," Cress muttered to herself. She was wearing her most comfortable pajamas and sitting cross-legged on her bed. Opening up an incognito window on her laptop, she typed in the web address for Instagram. "What would Thorne's account be called?"

Probably not his first name, she decided. She recalled the first time he'd made an appearance: 'Call me Thorne, honey. I prefer to pretend the first name doesn't exist.'

She tentatively typed in "thorne" into the search bar. The first account she found was bostonredsuxxthorne. "Definitely not that," she allowed herself a small smile. The second one was captainfabulousthorne. _That_ sounded more likely. She scrolled through the posts. Yup, that was definitely him. Pictures of him at baseball games, of him making stupid faces at the camera (while still managing to look extremely hot), and videos of him at the gym (shirtless, of course). Cress may or may not have watched several of them, swooning over his abs and crooked, shamelessly flirty smile. _No wonder he has so many followers,_ she thought, _probably mostly teenage girls_. And then - Cress felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach - dozens of pictures of him with a pretty, East Asian girl with long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She clicked on one, in which Thorne and the girl were standing in front of a poster for the new Avengers movie, and read his caption: " mechielinh, thx for the popcorn and movie 3 ;P". One of the latest comments was, she realized by the girl in the picture herself: "you owe me, _carswell_ ". Cress almost laughed aloud. _No wonder he goes by his last name_. Determined to find out more about the so-called "mechielinh", Cress searched her up in a separate tab. To her surprise (and, though she wouldn't ever have admitted it out loud, relief), the girl - named Cinder - was dating a different guy. _She and Thorne aren't together, thank goodness_.

Right. She was stalking Thorne for a reason. She scrolled back to the top of his feed, looking for the post with the information she needed. _There._ She laughed out loud with relief when she saw the post. _If you want to say goodbye, come to 183 West 85th Avenue, Apartment 7B!_ It was almost _too_ easy.

Cress set her jaw determinedly. She was going to find him, and she was going to give him a gift worth remembering.

After all, _he_ was worth remembering.

* * *

"I will carry my keys around with a nail clipper?"

Thorne frowned at the gift he had been given, uncertain what to think of it. It was a nail clipper, with _something_ threaded through it. It could be a keychain, he thought, but who knew?

He also didn't know how to _feel_ about the gift. Clearly, Cress had put a lot of time into it. It was certainly one of the most thoughtful gifts he had ever received, and he knew it would always remind him of her wherever he went.

But on the other hand, he _really_ didn't want to say goodbye to Cress. Over the past few months, she had come to mean so much to him. Over time, he had learned to await the times when his nails were chipping and scratched, because it was an excuse for him to see her. He couldn't help but feel like their relationship had been cut too short.

"No, Thorne, it's a bracelet," she laughed. "I beaded it myself. See, I even used the dorky alphabet beads!"

Thorne frowned, turning the beads until he could see the lettered sides. Huh. She was right. He smiled at the message they spelled out.

"I'll miss you - Cress?" he read out.

She nodded. "Do you like it?" she asked nervously, swallowing.

"Stars above, yes, I love it," he replied breathlessly. "I really, really do." Whoops. That sounded a little bit _too_ emphatic.

"You don't have to keep it if you don't want to," she said, looking down.

"No! Hey, Cress, it's not that!" He put a hand on her shoulder. "I was just… I was just wondering if there was another gift I could have from you."

"You want me to pay for that shirt, don't you?" She laughed, but Thorne could tell she was nervous. "I'll do it."

"No, no, it's not that at all! Aces, I am bad at this," he muttered. And why was he so nervous all of a sudden.

"Captain Carswell Thorne just admitted he was bad at something?" Her mouth twitched upward.

"Hey, how do you know my first name?"

"Instagram. Now, what were you going to ask me?"

"Cress, I wanted to know - can I have your number?" he asked quickly. "Just to, you know, keep in touch…"

" _That's_ what you wanted?" Her eyes narrowed. "Thorne, what sort of a person do you think I am?"

"It's fine," he said, taking his hand off her shoulder. It stung, though. More than being rejected by any other girl ever had.

"Of course I'll take your number!" she exclaimed, pulling him into a hug. "I'd like to keep in touch with you forever and ever! And don't you dare switch manicurists, because then you'll have me to deal with. I will personally fly in to wherever you are and do your nails." She pulled away from him.

"Point taken," he grinned. He felt unnaturally light. Somehow, one smile from Cress felt like a thousand from other girls. "And you were stalking my Instagram? Did you appreciate my gym videos?" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"As a matter of a fact, I did," she said, blushing. "You really are fit."

"You know it," he said, grinning. The two of them fell into an awkward silence, which was quickly punctuated by Cress' giggles.

Thorne engulfed her in a hug, pulling her as close to himself as he possibly could. "I have to go know, as you probably know from my Instagram," he said.

"Yup," Cress smiled. "Until next time?"

"Until next time." It was a promise.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hello, everyone! Not much to update on, other than the fact that I have just spent a full hour at Costco and have just escaped in time to finish this prompt. As you can probably tell from the story this time, I love to travel, so writing about all of these incredible places was a joy. I hope you like it!**

* * *

"It's a legitimate theory!" Cress could hear Thorne protesting a few rooms over. "Just because you don't think the proper time to begin eating a hot dog is a pressing question in today's world doesn't mean it isn't!"

She laughed, and then immediately regretted it, breaking out into an uncontrollable coughing fit. _Stars, her immune system hated her._ She just _had_ to have gotten sick right when the rest of the Rampion crew was visiting. She hadn't wanted to get the rest of them sick (and besides, she didn't think she could walk a few steps without bursting into a coughing fit), so she was confined to the bed for now. Thorne had promised to bring her some of the cake that Scarlet had made for everyone, but this brought only a little comfort to her.

She flipped over onto her side, just as a new wave of laughter could be heard. Cress mentally berated her immune system for its terrible timing and lack of enthusiasm for its sole job. Just as she had given up on sleep and resigned herself to dying of boredom and mucus, the door opened slightly.

Winter peered into the room. "Cress? May I come in?"

"Sure," Cress nodded, propping herself up (with great effort and multiple cushions) against the bed's headboard.

Winter entered, sitting by Cress's feet. "I knew you were sick, so I decided to cheer you up. With cake," she passed Cress one of the two pieces she'd been holding.

Cress's mood improved dramatically. "Thank you _so much_ ," she inhaled the heavenly scent and, taking the fork Winter offered her, tried a bite.

"Scarlet is amazing," Winter said through a mouthful of cake.

Cress fervently agreed.

There was a lapse in the conversation, while Cress ate her cake with gusto and Winter examined the numerous photographs on the dresser next to the bed.

"You and Thorne are so cute in this one," she laughed, gesturing to a picture.

Cress glanced over, momentarily distracted from her cake, and giggled as well. "That was when we visited the American Republic. We were in a northern city when it started to snow. It was beautiful," she sighed wistfully.

In the picture, Cress (bundled up in scarves and jackets and a pompom beanie) and Thorne (with a beanie to match) were gazing into each other's eyes while standing in front of a grove of snow-dusted pine and fir trees. But what was most striking were the streaks of green, turquoise, and violet highlighting the indigo sky that stretched in all directions.

"Aurora Borealis," Cress told Winter. "The local people had ancient legends about them. It was right out of a fairytale. Just - magical."

"That sounds incredible," Winter smiled. "Tell me about all of the others!"

"Gladly," Cress grinned. She pointed to the photo next to it. "That one's from Australia. We had gone to distribute the vaccine, but we also stopped by the Great Barrier Reef."

The photo showed Cress and Thorne snorkeling, the vibrant purple and orange fish in sharp contrast to the impossibly blue water. The brilliantly colored coral and the patterns the sunlight made on the sand below made it seem as though the picture was a window into another time and place.

"There were so many tiny fish," Cress reminisced. "I could have stayed there and watched them all day."

"Those colors really are amazing," Winter agreed. "What about the next one?"

"That was taken during our travels around the African Union. We saw all three of the pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex. They're enormous; you can really tell in the picture."

Cress and Thorne were miniscule compared to the massive monuments seemingly rising up out of the desert sands. The yellow and gold of the desert and the vivid cerulean sky brought the image to life with startling clarity. Cress smiled to herself, remembering the awe that gazing up at the structures brought on. The sky had been such an intense shade of blue that it was difficult to look directly up. The golden heights of the pyramids had practically glowed with otherworldly color.

"That one is of an ancient citadel in the southern areas of the American Republic called Machu Picchu. We actually saw a llama there," Cress laughed. "The llama was honestly a little intimidating."

Winter laughed. The breathtaking view was clear in the picture - the lush greens and browns and enormous mountains made it a stunning shot. Everything had been so still and peaceful there, as if it was a forgotten world all of its own. Looking out over the mountains, Cress had been struck by the sense that she was so very, very small, in a world that was very, very large. It had been a strange feeling, but somehow comforting as well.

"The next picture is of the Alhambra, in the European Federation. It's honestly one of the most stunning places I've ever seen."

Granada had been a picturesque town, full of flowers and music and narrow, cobblestone streets. Cress had fallen in love immediately, and had dragged Thorne around the city, gasping at the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevadas in the distance. The intricate carvings and rushing water within the fort itself had blown her away - the wisteria lazily winding around the columns and the perfect weather had made it an idyllic paradise.

"That must have been amazing," Winter smiled.

"I'd never seen anything like that," Cress admitted, "except for the desert, of course. When I was in the satellite, I always wanted to see Earth, and Thorne's kind of adorably determined to take me everywhere."

A knock on the door announced Thorne's arrival.

"Hey, Cress," he said, coming in. He held a piece of cake in his hand. "I brought cake for you - unless you already got some?"

"I never say no to cake, Thorne," Cress laughed. "Hand it over."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello everyone! I'm sorry that I didn't update yesterday. Although I would love for writing to be a priority in the future, currently my life insists on getting in the way. So, to make up for that, there will be a double update! Happy, happy day! Here's yesterday's story: a very short piece of Wolflet tomato fluff! :D**

* * *

"I have something to show you," Scarlet grabbed Wolf's hand.

She set off, weaving through the crowded farmer's market. Wolf's enhanced senses were met with a barrage of information: people chatting and laughing, the smells of freshly baked bread, and-

"Tomatoes?" he asked, a smile growing.

Breathless, Scarlet nodded, laughing at the wonder on his face. They stopped in front of a booth filled with different tomatoes.

"I didn't know there were so many types of tomatoes," Wolf ran his fingers over a few on the larger side. "What are they called?"

"Those ones you're touching are Roma tomatoes. Those ones are Brandywine, and those are Campari, and..." she trailed off. "You're not listening, are you?"

"What about those tiny ones?" Wolf asked, picking one up with a suspicious air.

"Cherry tomatoes, Wolf." Scarlet laughed at his look of incredulity.

"These are tomatoes? What about those green things, then?"

"Those are tomatillos, not tomatoes."

" _What?_ "

"I'll tell you about those later," Scarlet promised. "For now, let's get some cherry tomatoes. We don't grow those on our farm. Maybe we should," she mused, her practiced hands picking out the best. Scanning her wrist across the payment screen, she rinsed off the tomatoes.

"Try one," she offered it to Wolf. He popped it in his mouth.

"They're good," he agreed, "but I like yours better."

"Oh, really?"

"Anything grown by you is better, Scarlet."

"You're hopeless," she laughed, shaking her head. "Come on. Let's go eat some tomatoes."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Ack! Life decided to be a jerk again, so the double update I promised in the morning almost didn't happen. But here we are. I decided that day nine would be a Cresswell AU, so here's a piece of fluff for you lovely readers. :) By the way, I've never actually been in a bar before or anything like that, so if the details are wrong, you have me to blame. Enjoy!**

* * *

What a horrible day.

Cress groaned. She wanted nothing other than to forget all of it.

The taxi driver looked back at her sympathetically. "You okay there?"

"Yeah," she sighed, "just an absolutely awful day."

"I'm sorry about that," he said. "Anywhere special you want me to take you?"

Cress was about to refuse, but she changed her mind. Iko had told her about a new bar that had just opened only two blocks from her apartment. That would be the perfect place - to drown her sorrows in alcohol, and all that, even though she'd never actually gotten drunk before.

"Yeah, actually. There is one place..."

* * *

Cress slumped on her barstool. She was already on her third drink, but she couldn't stop revisiting the events of the day. The ruined job interview with Sybil, her lost papers, tripping and falling in front of all those people...

She had to stop. Instead, she focused on the musician's stage where a jazz band was playing. She made eye contact with the lead saxophonist and immediately flushed bright red and looked away. _Stars, he was hot._ He had the sort of blue eyes and bronzed hair straight out of Hollywood, and the flirty smile to match. She shook her head. He would never be interested in anyone like her.

Cress waved over the bartender. "Do you have something a little stronger?"

* * *

His jazz band was letting people come up and sing karaoke. Thorne internally winced as a very drunk, very clumsy girl finished belting out the last notes of I've Got You Under My Skin. Thorne managed to keep a straight face. _Which of his band members had thought karaoke was a good idea?_

Thank goodness it would be over in a few minutes. He signaled for whoever wanted the last song to come up.

To his shock, the short, seemingly shy blond girl sitting at the bar made her way towards the stage.

Thorne hadn't pegged her as the type that would sing karaoke in bars. She was definitely pretty drunk, he noticed.

"Song?" he asked.

"The famous Elvis one," she said, stepping onto the stage and grabbing the microphone stand for support. Thorne winced, praying she didn't put too much weight on it.

"There are a lot of famous Elvis songs, darlin'," Thorne shrugged. "I need specifics."

"Um," she swayed slightly. "Can't Help Falling In Love?"

"Ah," Thorne said, "got it."

* * *

She actually had a good voice, Thorne realized with surprise. Unlike most of the drunk girls who staggered up to the stage to sing, her voice was smooth and melodic.

She had reached the end. Her voice shook slightly at the last line: "For I can't help falling in love with you."

With a start, Thorne realized she had tears in her eyes.

Without waiting for any applause, the girl hastily left the stage. Thorne's gaze followed her for a minute, but he shook himself and went about packing his things up.

Standing up, he glanced around the bar. His eye caught on the blond girl, standing in a corner and looking miserable. Something compelled him to wave goodbye to his bandmates and head in her direction.

Stopping right in front of her, he cleared his throat. "Are you okay? You seem..." he stopped. Tears were running down her cheeks.

"Oh no," he mumbled, awkwardly holding out his arms. "D'you want to..." he trailed off.

She stumbled into his arms, sobbing. She was short enough that her face only came up to the base of his neck.

Thorne was incredibly uncomfortable. "Look, do you need anything?"

She didn't seem to hear him. Haltingly, she began speaking. "I had a terrible job interview today. And then I found out I'd lost some really important papers that I needed. And then I tripped and fell down in front of a whole crowd of people and-" she broke off.

Thorne patted her hair stiffly. "It's all over now. You can't do anything about it now."

Her sobs had quieted. He peered down. "Um, hello?"

She had passed out.

"Spades," he sighed, "how much did you drink?"

With some difficulty, he carried her outside to his car. Depositing her in the backseat and buckling her up as best as he could, he started the drive back to his apartment.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

The blankets were so soft. Cress snuggled in deeper and yawned, inhaling the scent of-

Wait. Kitten?

"Oh, good, you're awake," an unfamiliar voice said.

Cress shrieked and bolted upright. The saxophone player from the night before was standing in the room's doorway with his hands up.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"What am I doing here?" she demanded.

"Well," he said, folding his arms and leaning against the doorframe, "you were pretty drunk last night. The bar, remember? I figured you weren't exactly in a position to make good decisions."

"Stars," Cress muttered. That explained the pounding headache. "Thank you for that."

"It's what anyone would have done," he shrugged.

There was a stretch of silence. Then Cress ventured hesitantly, "Did I do anything stupid last night?"

"Nothing much," he shook his head. "I mean, you did sing Can't Help Falling In Love in front of the entire bar. It was really good, actually. And then you were crying into my arms at one point..."

Cress buried her face in her hands. "I am so, so sorry. You didn't have to do any of this, and if there's any way I can repay you-"

"Don't worry about it," the man waved her off. "It wasn't a problem."

She opened her mouth, but he cut her off again. "I know you're probably not feeling that great, so you can head into the bathroom and take a shower. I'll be downstairs making breakfast. I'll have some aspirin ready for you. I have a feeling you'll need it," he winked, turning to go.

"Wait," Cress blurted out. "I don't know your name."

"Thorne," he said. "And you?"

"I'm Cress," she told him.

"Okay, Cress," he smiled (and it really was heartstopping), "I'll be waiting."

* * *

Thorne used French vanilla shampoo and conditioner. Cress had to laugh. Stepping in the shower, she sighed at the relief the hot water brought her.

Thorne had been incredibly kind. If she had been occupying his bed, he must have slept on a sofa. Along with letting her take a shower, and making her breakfast.

It was so much more than she deserved.

She couldn't believe she'd lost her judgement in that way. She was glad she couldn't remember most of it.

She wrung her hair out and quickly braided it. Changing into yesterday's clothes, she closed the bathroom door and almost tripped over the source of the kitten smell.

The tiny fluff ball sat on its haunches and looked inquisitively up at her.

"Aww," Cress smiled. "Hello, cutie."

It slipped through the door and into the hallway. Following it, Cress found Thorne in his kitchen, along with a bowl of cereal.

"Sorry I didn't have time to make anything nice," he said, tilting his head at the cereal.

"No, you've done... so much more than I would have expected," she reassured him with a small smile. There was a comfortable silence while Cress finished her Cheerios.

"So you'll be heading to wherever you live, now?" Thorne asked her.

"Yeah," Cress sighed.

"Do you need a ride?"

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it. I'll actually walk to the downtown library- wait. Is your apartment near the library?"

"Only three blocks away."

"Perfect!" Cress beamed, standing to leave. "Thank you so much for everything," she walked to the door and was about to step outside.

"Wait, Cress," he stopped her. "Don't forget your bag."

Cress flushed. "I can't believe I almost forgot that," she sighed.

"Ah, don't worry about any of it," Thorne said with his easy smile. "Have a good day, Cress."

"You too," she turned and stepped onto the sidewalk. "Bye, Thorne."

* * *

Cress reached inside her bag, fumbling to find her phone. Instead of her iPhone, her fingers hit upon a piece of paper.

Pulling it out, she saw a phone number. Underneath, there was a drawing of a kitten - and the name 'Thorne'.

Laughing quietly, Cress tilted her head up to the sky.

The birds were singing today. It felt almost like a new beginning.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hello, everyone! Happy Tuesday (or Wednesday, depending on where you live)! For today, WTAW and I have created a 1,175 word piece of concentrated fluff for you all. We'd planned to keep it about 500 words (yeah right, who were we kidding?), but somehow, all of the sandwichy goodness warranted at least twice as many. :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy! On a side note: I finally got started on Friday's prompt! I have big plans for that one, but I can't give anything away yet! I'm so excited for that one, though! Yay! But in the meantime, here's this little fic. Please review! :D**

* * *

"But I'm a perfectly good pilot, and it's my ship!" Thorne protested.

"Perfectly good?" Scarlet rolled her eyes. "And it's not your ship yet. You stole it."

Cress grinned sheepishly at Wolf, and he grinned back. They were all on the Rampion, headed from Farafrah to France to deliver the letumosis antidote. Needless to say, over the past few weeks, numerous such arguments had broken out between Thorne and Scarlet, and all Cress and Wolf could do was laugh at them.

Subtly, they shifted away from the center of the galley, where the argument was intensifying.

"I hope they don't break anything," Cress winced as Scarlet slapped her hand on a counter for emphasis.

Wolf laughed. "The cabinet handle will never be the same."

"Good thing neither of them is holding any sharp or heavy objects." Cress pointed out. Neither Thorne nor Scarlet would ever throw anything at each other, but their wild gestures put many a galley appliance in mortal danger.

"Thank goodness," Wolf muttered. He glanced up at Cress. "Hey, Cress? Are you hungry? Because I'm practically starving right now."

"You know," Cress laughed, "I don't think I ever made you that sandwich I promised you, aboard the Rampion all those weeks ago."

"It's only been weeks?" Wolf looked surprised. "It feels like it's been an eternity."

"Yeah," Cress sighed. "A lot has happened since then."

Wolf sighed as well, and the two of them fell into a reflective silence.

"You know what hasn't changed?" Cress said brightly. "I still want to make you that sandwich."

Wolf's eyes lit up. "I will take you up on that offer," he said, getting up from his seat.

* * *

"Okay, so first things first, what do you want in your sandwich?"

Cress was determined to make this sandwich right. She had already pulled out her sandwich maker (the Rampion did not have stoves) and plugged it in. She was now taking on the task of sorting through the refrigerator to see what would be good sandwich material. Unfortunately, with Thorne on board, this proved to be rather difficult.

"Tomatoes," Wolf replied with certainty. "And… maybe lettuce. And cheese. I would love some cheese. Preferably mozzarella."

"Okay," Cress said, continuing to dig through the refrigerator. "Ugh, Thorne! Original Pop Tarts, Cinnamon Pop Tarts, Trader Joe's Toaster Pastries… remind me why we need all of these again?"

"They are delicious," Wolf admitted rather sheepishly.

"It's not that," Cress groaned, throwing up her arms in surrender. "How is anyone supposed to find anything here?" Pulling out the boxes of Pop-Tarts, she looked at what was underneath it. "Beer? What occasion does Thorne envision we would need beer, of all things?"

Grunting, she heaved the bottle of beer and slammed it down on the counter, rather forcefully. Her eyes caught on the item the beer had been hiding. "Tomatoes!" she said, eyes lighting up. She pulled one out and handed it to Wolf. "Taste?"

He took it from her hand and took a large bite. "Not as good as Scarlet's, but still delicious!"

"Yay!" Cress breathed a sigh of relief. "Now, I just have to find the mozzarella, lettuce, and bread."

"I'll help."

After a few more minutes of intense searching, the items in question were found. Cress promptly grabbed two slices of bread and inserted a large hunk of cheese between them.

"Here we go," she said, turning on the sandwich maker. It promptly flickered to life and started to make various beeping sounds.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Wolf asked.

"I have no idea," Cress said. "I've never used it before."

They stared apprehensively at it for a few seconds.

"Oh, well," Cress shrugged. "If it turns out to be a problem, we'll call Cinder."

A loud beep pierced the air. Both of them jumped.

"Let's just hope it's heating up," Wolf gave Cress a nervous smile.

"Hopefully it is," Cress muttered. "I'm pretty sure Thorne lost the instructions though, so I guess we'll have to wait and see..."

Wolf nodded. "Can you put tomatoes in the sandwich?" he asked, a little bit too eagerly.

"You can do the honors." She smiled, gesturing to the already rather large and lumpy sandwich. Wolf gave her a giddy smile and proceeded to pile the tomatoes into the sandwich.

"Not too many, we need to save room for the lettuce!" Cress chided.

Wolf nodded sheepishly. "Right," he said, taking a huge handful of lettuce and pouring it onto the sandwich.

Cress gave a skeptical look at the mass of bread, cheese and vegetables in front of her. It was already four inches high. Would it even fit in the sandwich maker?

"Whoops," Wolf shrugged. "I might have gone a bit overboard there."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to take something out," Cress tentatively poked the sandwich. "What do you like the least? Maybe take out some lettuce?"

"I guess…" Looking rather crestfallen, Wolf started to carefully scoop out some of the lettuce. The sandwich immediately deflated to a manageable height of three inches.

"That's better, now," Cress said, picking up the sandwich and squishing it shut. Tentatively opening the sandwich maker, she placed the sandwich inside it and closed it. At once, the machine started to make sizzling noises.

"Here we go," Wolf said, nervously shifting his weight.

"Well, at least we know it heated up," Cress shrugged.

A silence descended as they expectantly watched the sandwich maker together. Cress giggled, realizing how strange they probably looked.

"What are you two doing?" Scarlet's voice rang out behind them.

Thorne popped into the room, followed by Scarlet. "Hey! What happened to my Pop Tarts?! And my beer!"

"Casualties of the great tomato sandwich," Cress shook her head with mock sadness. "Which, by the way, why do you even have beer?"

"You never know," Thorne winked, while the rest of them rolled their eyes.

Their conversation was cut short by a violent beeping sound accompanied with a red flashing light. Cress turned around. It was the sandwich maker. Why was she not surprised?

"I guess that's our cue," Wolf said, reaching for it. He pried the machine open, to find...

A golden-brown sandwich, with melted cheese oozing out of the sides and red tomato juice dripping from the edges.

"Stars," Wolf said, looking at it with almost as much affection as he looked at Scarlet with. "It looks amazing. Thank you, Cress."

"Splitsies?" Cress asked, holding up a butter knife and grinning at her partner in crime.

"You can do the honors," Wolf gestured to the cheesy perfection in front of them.

Cress took the knife and cut the sandwich through the middle. She handed one half to Wolf, even though the halves were still connected by the oozing cheese.

"Spades," Thorne inhaled the scent. "Now I'm hungry, too."

"Don't even think about it," Cress warned him, brandishing the butter knife. "This is the glorious product of our har labor."

Wolf held his half up to Cress's. "Cheers," he said.

Cress smiled, accepting the toast. "Here's to many more sandwiches to come."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Whew. This one was... difficult, to say the least. I originally had the idea, and asked WTAW if she wanted to collaborate on (yet another) prompt. While we were working on it, the lovely rowaelinfeyrhys popped on and helped as well, resulting in the wonderful "Iko's dress is a cake" comparison. For all of you Kaider fans out there (everyone...) since WTAW and I wanted an opportunity to write some good, solid Thinder BroTP banter, we had to make sure Kai didn't disrupt anything and magically turn everything into Kaider fluff. Anyway, enjoy! :)**

* * *

Cress stopped at the top of the stairs leading down into the great hall where the second annual Lunar Ball was being held. Her breath caught. Besides Cinder's coronation, this was one of the first big events like this that she had been to. It was a huge room full of fully lit crystal chandeliers, elegant tapestries, and large urns. Some were filled with moon rocks, some with reflective pools of water, still others with flowers. A large part of the space was completely empty, save a few people twirling around it in dresses and suits and other clothes that she didn't have names for. _Ballroom, then._ Stars above, there were so many colors. Deep sapphire, emerald green, fiery red, sunset pink. They were beautiful even without glamour.

Further along, towards the corner of the room were huge tables laden with every possible food imaginable. She had been getting to try so much new food as she and Thorne traveled around the world, but she had never seen so many different types of food all in the same place. Around the perimeter of the room were tables covered in thick, luxurious cloth, fine dishes, and glowing candles.

Cress carefully walked down the staircase into the bustle of people below. Almost immediately, she was ambushed from behind by a mass of pink tulle.

"Cress!" it squealed. "You look _adorable_! Is that the dress I gave you last week?!"

Momentarily overwhelmed, Cress attempted to turn and take a look at her attacker. "Iko?"

"Who else?" Iko laughed, spinning around to display the full length of her classy dress. "Do you like?"

"It's beautiful, Iko," Cress brushed a finger down the silky material. Iko's dress ended at her mid-calf, flaring out at her waist. The top was sleek and form-fitting with tight sleeves that ended at here wrists. Layers upon layers of pink tulle were gathered at an empire waist, almost giving the impression that a large pink cake was encasing Iko.

"But I was right!" Iko practically shrieked. "That blue complements your eyes so well."

Cress laughed. "Thanks, Iko. I should never doubt your fashion sense." She scanned the ballroom quickly, taking in her surroundings.

She frowned. "Where's Cinder?" she asked. After all, Cinder was supposed to be the guest of honor.

"Oh, probably hiding somewhere," Iko said. "You know her, this isn't really her thing. I offered to keep her company, but she told me to enjoy myself. So," she shrugged, "here I am."

"Well, you certainly look amazing," Cress laughed. "How long did that hair do take?" Iko's hair was in the same twisty bun she had put it in for the gala at Los Angeles, but stars, it looked even better today.

"Only a little bit longer than last time," she said. "But you should see my nails! They took forever!" Iko held up her hand. Her nails were a deep pink, with airbrushed silver patterns.

"Those really are amazing," Cress agreed.

"Any excuse to dress up," Iko winked.

"I completely agree," Cress told Iko as she linked her arm through Cress'. Indeed, during her imprisonment in her satellite, she had had a total of three day dresses. Dressing up for a fancy event was still a novelty for her.

"Come on, let's go look at the Lunars. Some of them have the most gorgeous clothes," Iko said to Cress, pulling her away from the base of the sweeping staircase and into the twirling masses beyond.

Indeed, Cress felt like she was being swept into a fairy tale, albeit a rather stuffy and proper one. With Iko there, though, gushing about everyone's dresses and hairdos and makeup, it felt like a dream come true.

* * *

Cinder grimaced, taking another one of the disgusting bread slices, which were spotted with flecks of green, and spreading some mysterious sauce over it. Placing it in her mouth tentatively, she made a face as the taste filled her mouth.

She didn't know why she was continuing to eat it, but she had nothing better to do. This ball was honestly one of the most trying events she had to go to. Last year, Kai had been there, but this year he was at some _conference_. So she was left alone here, with all the fake Lunar aristocracy, strutting around and preening like peacocks. Oh, and the Rampion crew was there as well, but they certainly looked like they were having the time of their life. Cress and Iko were chatting away, presumably comparing dresses. Jacin and Winter were dancing, Scarlet and Wolf were eating food a few tables away, and Thorne… what was Thorne doing? She didn't know, but she wasn't sure she wanted to either.

She sighed. There was no way on Luna that she belonged at this ball. Even though she was the ex-queen of Luna, she didn't _feel_ Lunar at all.

She didn't have a _duty_ to be here at the moment as well; it was just wining and dining at the moment. Would anyone even miss her if she just slipped out? She knew she would be able to… the Lunar guards let her do whatever she wanted.

 _Could she just slip out for a moment?_

She wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but _stars,_ she needed some fresh air. She slowly started backing away from the appetizer table, and towards the back door.

She was almost at the door - _freedom_ \- when she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder and stop her in her tracks.

"Where do you think you're going, Cinder?" said Thorne.

* * *

"Somewhere with no irritating people," Cinder slipped out from under his hand. "Sorry Thorne. That automatically discounts you."

"But you're the guest of honor! It would be a pretty terrible ball if the guest of honor went missing."

"The so-called guest of honor is not actually doing anything important," Cinder pointed out. "It's not like they're even going to notice."

"Come on, Cinder," Thorne protested. "Let's do something fun!"

"I think our definitions of _fun_ are very different," she replied, turning away from him and starting to walk away.

"Not so fast," Thorne said, putting a hand on her shoulder again. "I bet I can think of something we can both find fun."

"Well, I bet you're wrong," Cinder replied irritatedly. Why wouldn't he just leave her alone?

"Say, are there any drinks at this party at all?" Thorne asked suddenly.

"Yes. But no drinking games. That is not a respectable activity for the ex-queen to be partaking in," Cinder shook her head sternly.

"Respectable? Who cares about respectable?" Thorne asked incredulously.

Cinder scowled. "People with valid moral compasses. Besides, that doesn't fall under my definition of fun. Under any of my definitions of fun. Even the loosest ones."

"Ouch, Cinder," he clutched his chest dramatically, "that hurts."

Cinder smirked in response. "I don't hear you trying to deny it."

Thorne shrugged. "How about..." he trailed off. "Oh, how about we ship people?"

"Ship people? That's the best you could come up with? Shipping Lunar aristocracy? Has someone replaced you with Iko?" Cinder asked him, exasperated.

"Hey, trust me, it'll be fun. And no, but I hang around with her a lot, and Cress calls her a lot and I hear a lot of their conversations, so some of her… personality… may have rubbed off on me," Thorne said, trailing off.

"No, we are not doing this." Cinder told him. "For about twelve different reasons that I'm not going to spell out right now."

"But-"

"No. Most definitely not." Cinder said with that terrifying look that she used very rarely and only ever on Thorne.

Thorne threw his hands in the air with exasperation. "Well then, what do you suggest?"

"I suggest that I go back to my room and start the book that has been sitting on my nightstand for two weeks now. I suggest that you go find Cress and Iko and freak out about dresses and hair or something." Cinder said, spinning on her heel.

Thorne grabbed her arm. "Hey!" he exclaimed indignantly. "I don't _freak out_ over dresses and hair? And plus, you still can't leave because you are the guest of honor." He gave her a look.

"Ugh, fine. But since you're making me stay, you also get the honor of keeping me company and warding away anyone who seems interested in beginning a conversation."

"Well, I clearly remember that someone told me to go away, so maybe not," Thorne said smugly.

"Thorne, I swear…" Cinder said threateningly.

"From begging to threatening in 2.3 seconds. Good to know," Thorne told her with a wink.

Cinder scowled at him. "So?"

"Fine, fine, what do you want to do?" Thorne sighed.

"And we're back to square one."

"Well, I do seem to remember that I was the only one providing ideas, so you aren't really one to be complaining right now..." Thorne said.

"I'm not complaining." Cinder informed him.

Thorne raised his eyebrow, skeptical.

"Fine. You know what? Let's go look at the food," Cinder suggested, striding away.

"What, just look at it? What's the point of that? Shouldn't we at least try it?" Thorne asked slightly mockingly as he strode to catch up to her. She walked fast, especially considering that she was wearing a dress.

Cinder rolled her eyes, but a smile tugged at her lips.

"So tell me, where have you and Cress gone so far to distribute the antidote?" Cinder asked him.

"Small talk, really?" Thorne asked, giving her a mock disapproving look.

"It's not small talk, I'm genuinely interested in knowing," Cinder shot back.

"In that case, let's see. We've been to New Beijing, obviously. We went around the American Republic, we went to some of the places in the African Union, mostly around Farafrah, we visited Australia, and one or two places that had been hit hard in Europe," Thorne said, counting off his fingers.

"Did you see anything interesting? Have you been showing Cress new things? Is she having fun?" Cinder questioned.

"Oh yeah. I took her to see Vegas, so a big city type of place. We went to the beach for a day or two. She loved the ocean. I'm even teaching her how to swim! She really wants to see a forest or somewhere with a lot of trees, so I'm thinking of heading over to South America soon. They have a few places that have been hit pretty badly and could use the antidote as well. Oh, and she saw a waterfall. It wasn't one of the huge ones, but she seemed pretty amazed," Thorne finished slightly dreamily, as if his head was somewhere else, probably lost in the memories.

"What are these things?" Cinder asked Thorne, snapping him out of his reverie. Pinched between her fingers was what seemed to be a cracker with some dip and something gooey and pink piled on top. It was finished with something leafy and some red powder. Cinder sniffed it suspiciously and made a face.

"Oh come on, how bad can it be?" Thorne asked unconcerned. He took one and popped it in his mouth. He seemed to choke or something and his eyes started watering. "Okay, that was pretty bad," he stammered out, still spluttering.

At that, Cinder, who had started nibbling it quickly removed it from her mouth and discreetly dropped it in the little garbage bin at the end of the table. She walked down the table to where warm, golden bread sat braided into little wreaths. There were little birds, rabbits, and turtles. It looked good, but remembering the disgusting bread that she had eaten earlier and Thorne's mishap with the seemingly harmless cracker thing, she took a small bite.

"Thorne, come over here. This is really good!" she said in the direction of her friend as she shoved another piece in her mouth.

Thorne, who had suspiciously picked up a thin slice of some green vegetable with something bright orange on top of it, seemed more than happy to leave that table. His eyes widened as he beheld what was behind Cinder. He walked past her completely and just stared at the elaborate display of cakes, tarts, cookies, and other fancy desserts he could have only dreamed of. For a second, he only stared at the lavish arrangement, eyes wider than Cinder thought was possible.

"Why are you just standing there?" Cinder asked, snatching something from the table that looked like blackberries surrounded by a puffy crust. It was dusted with sugar and some other spice that looked suspiciously like cinnamon. "Stars, this is amazing. I need to go meet the chefs."

That seemed to break Thorne from his trance. He picked something up from the table. "Do you want one of these?" he said, raising his eyebrows. It was a small, red cupcake embellished with a dollop of white cream. It was topped with something chunky that could have been toasted nuts.

"That looks like red velvet." Cinder pursed her lips and shook her head. "I've always been a chocolate person. No, thank you."

"It probably isn't. It smells like cherry and mint? That can't be right." Thorne said raising an eyebrow as he sniffed.

"Why don't you try it and find out?" Cinder asked.

"Because I don't want to be the guinea pig this time," Thorne said firmly. "I am scarred after those disgusting crackers."

"And what if I said no?" Cinder raised her eyebrows. A challenge.

"Then," Thorne said, winking, "I would disregard your opinion." He lunged forward with the cupcake. Anticipating what he was about to do, Cinder opened her mouth just as the cupcake came toward her face. She quickly clamped down her mouth, securing the still-untasted cupcake as well as two of Thorne's fingers in her jaws.

"AGH! You maniac! You're not supposed to bite me!" Thorne shrieked. Twisting and writhing, he tried desperately to get his fingers out. Cinder gave him what would have been a smug smile.

"Fine, fine, you don't have to try it, I promise, you can just spit it out, just please let my fingers go!" he admitted defeat.

Satisfied, Cinder opened her mouth, then promptly spit the cupcake out into her hand. It was now squishy and deformed, and the frosting was melted. Thorne stared in disgust at the item in her hand, which was enough for her to keep it there for a few minutes longer.

"Throw it away!" Thorne said, shuddering.

"Why?"

"Because," he whined, "it's gross!"

"You're such a wimp," Cinder said, rolling her eyes.

"I am not a wimp!" he protested.

"That argument sounds weak, even to you," Cinder retorted. She saw his eyes flicker and knew she had hit home.

She grinned, taking another one of the cupcakes from the tray and splotching it on Thorne's forehead.

"Ah! Stars, Cinder, what on Earth? You've ruined my looks!"

"Serves you right," Cinder said self-righteously.

At that moment, Cress sidled up to the dessert table and stopped in shock as she took in Cinder and Thorne's faces.

"I won't even ask," she said finally, sighing. "Go clean yourself up, Carswell."

"Don't _Carswell_ me!" Thorne protested.

Cress gave him a look that had him mumbling and shuffling off. Once he was gone she turned to Cinder.

"Nice shot, but you should also go clean up. You are the guest of honor, after all," Cress told her.

Cinder sighed. "I should go keep Thorne company, anyway. After all, we both participated in it." Smiling apologetically at Cress, she slipped out of the hall before anyone of significant importance could notice and throw a tantrum.

Thorne was waiting out in the hall for her. "That wasn't quite so boring, now was it?" he asked with a laugh. They started to walk toward one of the many bathrooms.

"We probably shouldn't have," Cinder said, causing Thorne to sigh, "but that was so much more fun than this boring ball," she finished.

Thorne laughed. "I knew you had it in you to be fun, Cinder."

"Oh, don't even start," she said dangerously, but there was no real anger in her voice. "Let's remember who won the last round," she taunted.

"You cheated!" Thorne protested.

"You're just a sore loser," Cinder retorted.

Thorne shoved her lightly and she shoved back, laughing.

"But really, Thorne," Cinder cleared her throat awkwardly. "Thank you."

Thorne looked at her. Wrinkled his nose in confusion. "Okay... no idea why, but I'll take it. It's not every day I hear you say it," he laughed.

"And you'll never hear it again," Cinder muttered. "Thank you for making me feel better about everything."

"Anytime," Thorne smirked. "I adore annoying you."

"I regret everything I just said." Cinder sighed. "I guess I can't take it back now, can I?"

"No refunds, darling," Thorne shook his head.

"Keep it up and I'll put frosting in your hair."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hello again! Today's story is a (really short) one shot about Iko, because I love her and feel like I've been sadly neglecting her thus far in the ship weeks. By the way, if you haven't already, go check out wavingthroughawindow's TLC Ship Weeks collection, called Over the Moon. It's definitely worth reading! Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Iko's skin had been torn open, the gash extending from her right wrist to the inside of her elbow. She frowned at it, threading her needle. She hadn't bothered to stitch the frayed edges of the wound together - if you could even call it a wound.

It was during times like these when Iko felt the least human.

Without anything covering the intricate wiring embedded in her humanoid form, it was as if her humanity had been stripped away along with her skin.

Experimentally wiggling her fingers, Iko began roughly stitching the edges together with her left hand. If there was any damaged circuitry, she'd slit the stitches open for Cinder later. But for now, it was more important that nothing be exposed to open air or liquids.

Tying a hasty knot, Iko cut the remaining thread. Flexing her fingers, she checked to make sure everything was in roughly the correct position. Thumb - check. Index, middle, and ring fingers - all present and working. Pinky - not responding.

Iko scowled at the offending appendage. Then, resigning herself to her bad luck and shrugging, she reached for her netscreen.

She picked up where she had left off six hours ago, before she had been so rudely interrupted: scrolling through dresses sold by online retailers.

After all, if one was going to go to a party where one intended to meet an extremely dangerous wolf-hybrid, one needed to be dressed for the part. Iko figured she could probably buy a relatively functional dress online and then retrofit as necessary.

Pursing her lips, she narrowed her options down to two. One, a sleek, floor-length chiffon dress dyed in sunset reds and golds, would contrast wonderfully with her braids.

The other, a knee-length, silky black dress, was probably more functional, and came with the added advantage of pockets.

Of course the pockets won out. Who in their right mind would turn down a good-looking dress with pockets?

Completing her purchase, Iko sighed and leaned back in her chair. Hopefully, she'd also be able to replace her ripped skin before the big night.

Stars, that sounded _awful_. Unnatural.

No - _that_ wasn't just unnatural. _She_ was unnatural. Too robotic to ever be a true human, yet too humanlike to ever be just another mindless android.

Sometimes, Iko wondered if it would just be easier to become like them - to have all of her emotions and responses preprogrammed.

But she would never be able to do that, she knew. That would be almost like giving up.

And Iko never gave up.

Maybe, she mused, she had the best of both worlds.

And maybe that made up for it all.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hello everyone! Here it is: the long-awaited Fairytale prompt! Well, I don't actually know if it's been long awaited, but whatever. :) I have big plans for this one shot. I'm going to make it into my summer writing project, so this is just a little teaser of a prologue. Ever since I read Fairest and about the murder of Levana's parents, I've been really intrigued by Jannali's story. I've had this idea for about a year, but this is the first time I actually decided to write it. I'll make it into a chaptered story, so after I've gotten the next chapter written, I'll post this prologue again in a separate story! It'll be loosely based off of 1001 Nights, but I probably won't stay very faithful to the storyline because I have some very specific ideas for this fic... Anyway, I hope you enjoy this! If you like it, stick around to read the entire story. :)**

* * *

Jannali decided to die on the day she discovered the truth.

Ghost Queen, they called her. A shadow of what they all were. She even looked the part: her pale skin and hair were nothing short of ethereal. She seemed to float, not walk, skimming through the corridors of the palace with the air of one who was not entirely sure where she was going.

She remembered giving birth to two daughters.

She could not remember their names.

She recalled a time when she had been lively and free-spirited, a time before she met him.

He had used her. It made her sick to think about - the fact that she'd been used as nothing more than a means to an end.

No one would believe her, she knew that. No one would believe that it could be possible.

But Jannali knew.

And so she found someone willing to do it. It would be easy, she told them. The bioelectricity of shells could not be manipulated.

If only she had been a shell.

Two lives. Two deaths.

She had sealed her fate.

It was poetic, in a way. As if she were truly in control of her story for once. No - not poetic. Ironic. Ironic, that she'd been manipulated her entire life, and now, the one thing she had control over was her death.

Jannali appreciated the irony. It offered her a twisted source of comfort.

* * *

She was strangely calm in the hours preceding her death. Onlookers later recalled that she had laughed for the first time in years. They remembered how she seemed strangely free.

Looking back, people would use the word "fey" to describe her.

It was as if the Ghost Queen had finally come alive.

* * *

Jannali had few regrets.

She regretted not knowing her daughters. If she had spent time with them, had tried harder, it could have been different.

She did not want to leave them.

The older one would be queen; Jannali did not trust her.

The younger one was scheming, manipulative; Jannali did not trust her either.

She wished she had struggled harder.

She regretted her weakness. It had been her weakness that started it all.

She could not control the weakness, but she should have hidden it better.

She regretted not being the one to kill Marrok. She would have reveled in it. Gloried in giving him exactly what he deserved.

But she knew. She could not live after him.

They must die together.

* * *

Jannali had few regrets, yet dying was not one of them.

She regretted that no one would know her story afterwards. No one would know the story of the Ghost Queen. She would exist in people's memories as she had existed in reality: a shadow, a reminder of a dark time.

She was, of course, right.

No one missed the Ghost Queen.

No one would know her story.

Yet she had won in the end.

The Ghost Queen died triumphant.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hello, everyone! For those of you wondering why I didn't post yesterday, I was suffering from a lack of ideas and motivation (and also I'm super lazy), so I didn't write anything. I didn't even really start writing this till afternoon today, mostly because I was sitting around doing nothing in my swim parka for much longer than is socially acceptable. So yes, there will hopefully be a double update with today's Wolflet prompt, Nightfall. Anyway, here's some fluff, because I was uninspired and bored. :)**

* * *

"You're doing that wrong," Iko said disapprovingly. "Remind me why I trusted you to do this anyway?"

"Because I'm charming, handsome, suave, and the best person for the job?" Thorne asked. "Anyway, I don't see you helping."

"There are so many things wrong with what you just said," Iko shook her head, but knelt down beside him. "It's upside down, genius. And it's crooked."

Snatching the banner from Thorne, Iko realigned it and taped her handiwork to the entryway of the Rampion. "See?"

Without waiting for a reply, she barreled on. "Come one, Thorne. This has to be _perfect_. Where are the rest of the decorations I told you to set up?"

"Spades, calm down," Thorne pointed to the next room. "Everything's over there. You need to relax, Iko. Everything is going to be ready."

Iko took a deep breath. "I'm glad you have that much faith in us, but this is the first birthday party Cinder's ever _had_. I want her to love it."

"She's never had a birthday party before?" Thorne asked incredulously.

"Well... yeah," Iko nodded. "Obviously, Adri didn't exactly throw her any when she was growing up. Besides, Cinder never really knew when she was born."

"Well then," Thorne said with a smirk, "We had better make this one a party to remember."

* * *

"You suck," Iko informed Thorne.

"I do not!" he looked offended. "My singing voice is glorious, thank you very much."

"I find that very hard to believe," Iko tossed a stray paper decoration at him. "After that scarring demonstration, there is no way anyone could believe that."

"Jealousy doesn't suit you, Iko," Thorne clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"You can lie to yourself, Captain, but you can't lie to me," Iko shook her head. "And what's taking everyone so long?"

After putting the final touches on the decorations, they had sent Kai in search of Cinder. Everyone else had already found hiding places.

"They're probably _kissing_ ," Thorne said disgustedly.

"That would be adorable," Iko sighed.

"No, it really wouldn't," Thorne shuddered.

"Oh," she cooed, "can the big bad Captain not handle the idea of two people-"

"I can't heeeeeaaaaaaaar youuuuuuu," Thorne sang, plugging his ears. "Lalalalalalalalalalalala go awaaaaaaaaayyy."

Iko hurled a cushion at him.

Shrieking, Thorne grabbed it and flung it back, prompting an airborne retaliation.

An incensed voice cut through their mayhem.

"What," asked Cinder, "is going on here?"

* * *

"No cake for you, Thorne," Cress laughingly held a slice just out of his reach.

Thorne's reply was drowned in a wave of laughter. Cinder had just discovered the entire wall covered in embarrassing photos of her.

He hastened to point out the most humiliating ones. Scowling, she swatted him with her party tooter.

"Happy birthday, Cinder." Thorne smirked.

"No thanks to you," was all he got in response.

He just laughed.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Yeah, I definitely lied about the double update yesterday... but life permitting, there will be one today. So here's some random Wolflet fluff I came up with because I am a terribly unmotivated writer. On the plus side, I did start writing chapter one of my Jannali fic... any suggestions as to what the title should be? Please tell me in your review. Thanks! Hope you enjoy this!**

* * *

Scarlet found him on the roof.

Knees pulled into his chest, head resting against the chimney, he looked nothing like the intimidating street fighter she'd once known.

He didn't appear startled, only, perhaps, a bit sheepish. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" she asked, crouching beside him.

"I don't know," he sighed, wrapping an arm around her waist. "For a lot of things."

Scarlet wrapped her hand around his, a silent reassurance to continue.

"I'm sorry for bringing all this..." Wolf waved a hand around listlessly, "craziness into your life."

"Are you kidding?" Scarlet had to laugh. "It would have happened anyway, what with Grand-mére knowing everything."

"I'm so sorry she died."

Scarlet swallowed hard. "At least - at least she died for a cause, you know?"

Wolf nodded.

Scarlet continued, "She - and your mother - both died for something bigger and more important than them. I'm not saying that we should forget what they did for us. But I think we should understand the fact that they wouldn't have wanted us to get bogged down in death and could-haves. They would want us to live and love and-"

She stopped.

Wolf understood.

The sun was setting now, the fading glow reassuring in its warmth.

Scarlet had buried her grandmother on the edge of their property, near a gently-flowing river. It was a place where the magical stories of Scarlet's childhood could have taken place.

Scarlet traced a pattern over the rough skin on Wolf's palm.

"Grand-mére used to tell me a story," she began, glancing up at him. "She used to say that there was a land where people went when they died, a place 'at the edge of the horizon'. She told me that the people there could always see us, but we could never see them. That they would watch us and help us, if we needed it. I never believed her," Scarlet smiled, "but now I think I understand what she was trying to tell me."

There were no words necessary, just closeness and warmth and comfort.

As the sun set, so did their sorrow.

Life, after all, was for the living.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Haha I'm such a liar... I'm gonna stop promising double updates because I rarely actually follow up on them. :) But here's yesterday's non-themed Wolflet! It's a really short, really fluffy collaboration with WTAW. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Scarlet pulled up the recipe Émilie had sent her on her portscreen. French beignets, she had told her, you just can't go wrong with them.

Scarlet had eaten them before, but never made them herself. Grand-mére, she recalled, had always been more of a cake person.

She handed the portscreen to a bemused Wolf, instructing, "Read."

Leaning against the counter, Wolf began to read the ingredients list out loud while Scarlet hunted through the cupboards.

"...and confectioners' sugar," he finished.

Triumphantly, Scarlet slapped the bag down on the counter a bit harder than she'd intended. A light dusting of sugar wafted through an opening.

Fascinated, Wolf leaned forward. "I've never seen sugar like that."

"It's much finer than granulated sugar," Scarlet told him. "We'll sprinkle some over the top. Now, could you read the steps aloud?"

Scarlet was in her element, moving as quickly as Wolf could read. Under her expert supervision, the eggs were beaten, the dough was kneaded, and the oil preheated to perfection.

The dough lay in a glass bowl, covered with a sheet of plastic wrap.

"Perfect," Scarlet proclaimed, satisfied at last.

"Now what?" asked Wolf.

"Now, we wait. Ready for some board games?"

* * *

One hour into their board game marathon, Wolf suddenly stood up and gasped.

"What is it?" Scarlet said, standing up quickly. Her hand automatically went to her hip, searching for her handgun, before she realized that it was on her dresser in her room.

"What is that?" Wolf said, pointing outside.

Scarlet looked outside, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. It had now started lightly snowing, and the otherwise barren land was draped with large coats of white. She winced inwardly. That wouldn't be good for the farmland.

"What?" Scarlet asked, a quizzical expression on her face. "I don't see anything."

"That," Wolf said, pausing to find the right words, "the beautiful white mist falling from the sky."

Understanding dawned on her. "That's snow, silly! You know, the cold frosty particles that fall down once every year?"

Wolf shook his head, confused. "I've never seen this. It wasn't on Luna, and it wasn't on Paris when I came here."

Scarlet just shook her head. "Well, you're seeing it now," she said.

"It's beautiful," Wolf murmured.

"It's a pain in the butt, that's what it is," she grumbled. "Completely ruins the land."

"You and your farming…" He shook his head. "Come on, Scarlet, live a little. It is beautiful!"

"That it may be, but it doesn't stop it from being a pain in the butt. You should know this! Take Levana, for instance…"

Wolf looked positively affronted. "Levana is nothing like snow!"

"You sure?" Scarlet said. "She's cold, frosty, evil…"

"Snow is not evil!" Wolf said, glaring.

"Someone's very defensive," Scarlet teased. "Surely you don't love snow more than you love me?"

"I'll show you how much I love you!" Wolf stormed outside, and Scarlet just stared, confused. Was he really that mad?

He strode in confidently a few minutes later, trying to look innocent.

"What's up?" Scarlet said.

"Nothing…" He bit his lip.

"Ze'ev…"

A snowball hit her face.

She looked up to see Wolf grinning at her, his hand still wet. "That's how much I love you, Scar." He gave her a look filled with adoration. She grinned back at him from underneath her snow splattered face.

"Aww, I love you too," Scarlet said, starting to walk outside as well. "Next time, let's try to keep the snowball fighting outside, shall we?"

"Sorry," Wolf said, looking rather sheepish. He started to walk inside.

"I didn't mean it that way!" Scarlet exclaimed, grabbing Wolf's cuff and starting to drag him outside. "You didn't think the snowball fighting was over, did you?"

"I guess not…"

"I can't let you win!" They were fully outside now. Scarlet leaned down, scooped up a snowball, and threw it straight at Wolf's head.

"Ouch!" Wolf exclaimed. "That hurt!" Glaring, Wolf leaned down as well to scoop up a snowball.

"No, no, no. That won't do," Scarlet explained, grabbing Wolf's hand. "We need to get some distance from each other. Then we get twenty seconds to arm ourselves, and on the count of three, fire. There's a way to do these things, you know."

"You're just trying to win," Wolf said knowingly, pouting. "All these rules are in your advantage."

"Why do you think I like snowball fights so much?" She winked.

"Fine," Wolf surrendered. The two of them backed away from each other until they were a good fifteen feet away, then started to make their snowballs.

After twenty seconds, Scarlet screamed, "Three! Two! One! Fire!" Wolf grinned at her. It was on.

They spent the next hour hurling snowballs at each other, trash-talking each other, and having fun. Eventually, the weather became unbearable, even for them. They entered the house dripping wet and shivering, but in high spirits.

"I totally beat you!" Scarlet said. "I mean, look at you! You look like you were just in a blizzard!"

"I was," Wolf admitted. "I was in the Scarlet blizzard. But I survived, and I won."

"You can't beat a blizzard," Scarlet said, sticking out her tongue. "That just proves I won."

"Yes, you did," Wolf said, kissing her on the forehead.

* * *

"These are amazing," Scarlet inhaled the scent of powdered sugar and fried food. They were both slightly warmer than they had been previously, but were still freezing cold. The warm aromas coming off the beignets were enticing, though.

"All thanks to you," Wolf smiled, the beignets dwarfed by his large hands.

"Aww," Scarlet dotted his nose with sugar. "How sweet."

"Did you just make a pun?" Wolf asked incredulously.

"Shut up and eat your food," Scarlet laughed.

"Yes, ma'am," Wolf smiled, popping one into his mouth. "Aaaaahhhh," he said, letting the warmth spread through his body.

"We should thank Émilie for this recipe sometime," Scarlet mused.

"Later," Wolf told her. "Right now, we have food to eat."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Okay, I apologize for the ending but it was getting late and I didn't know how to wrap everything up, so you're left with something really cheesy. This slight AU was a collab with WTAW and rowaelinheyrhys (although they did most of it because I was frantically trying to write everything else I had missed the past few days). Tomorrow's story might be really short: I have a lot of stuff to do and I need to write my Kaider stories! Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Scarlet leapt up from the bed. Her usually wild hair was now in a waterfall braid, with flowers inserted at random intervals, courtesy of her best friend Émilie. Stars, she hated sitting still. She grabbed her friend's hand and ran into her grandmother's room.

"Grand-mére, let's go!" she shouted, excited but impatient.

"Calm down. I need a minute," her grandmother told her, laughing at Scarlet's childlike impatience. "I'm glad to see that you still get this excited about the Harvest Festival even though you're 18," she said, as she slid small chandelier earrings into her earlobes. She took one last look at herself in the mirror, straightened her necklace, then turned a critical eye on Scarlet and her friend. Deeming them ready, she grabbed her purse and ushered the girls out of the house.

* * *

Scarlet _had_ helped with decorating, but even still, the scene laid before her surpassed her wildest expectations. Her eyes widened. There was a flattened grass area surrounded by baskets of brightly colored leaves. _Perfect for dancing._ Next to it, there were various areas set up with different games. There were barrels of water, potato sacks, and other odds and ends. Scarlet enjoyed all of them, but her favorite by far was a small but long area roped off as a shooting range. There was a target set up in front of the trees, away from the rest of the festival as to avoid any incidents. About a quarter mile away from their farmhouse, they had erected a tarp. Under it, there were tables that would soon be laden with food.

Right now, they were carrying out platters of cut vegetables, apples, and other fall harvest foods, and laying them down in their respective places on the tables. Dishes made of squash and pumpkin sat steaming, waiting to be consumed. Scarlet put down the apple pies she was holding and moved out of the way, as her grandmother and Émilie set down various cakes and pies. The table was still largely empty because most people hadn't contributed their food yet.

Every year, Scarlet's grandmother hosted the Harvest Festival in the fall, to celebrate the fall harvest. It was one of Scarlet's favorite days of the year. All the townspeople came, and they brought food from their own harvests. There was dancing, and games. Different townspeople were in charge of different games and it was a lot of fun. It was the most highly anticipated social event in their little town. Scarlet loved the festival more than anything. It was the one time a year she had fun decorating. She had scoured the forest for the brightest colored leaves, the prettiest tree branches, the last of the wildflowers, fallen acorns.

Scarlet looked around to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, when her gaze landed on the dance area. _The speaker, of course!_ She ran inside and rolled out the big speaker which was exclusively used at the festival. She made sure it was on and then set up the playlist on her tablet.

After about twenty minutes of frenzied finalizations, the first people started trickling in. Scarlet enthusiastically greeted them, taking the plates that they carried and arranging it on the tables meant for food. People kept trickling in, shouting greetings to Scarlet, Michelle, and the others who had already arrived. This town was nothing if not punctual. She watched everyone socialize, and chatted with Émilie, who was commenting on everyone's dresses.

After a few minutes, Scarlet made an announcement that the opening dance was about to begin. All the girls between the ages of five and twenty five made their way to the stage as she started the music.

Scarlet had memorized the steps to this dance by the age of five, as had most of the other girls in the town. She smiled as she twirled and jumped, leading the other girls. By the end of the song, she was smiling from ear to ear, and she walked off the designated area. Neighbors hugged her, patted her on the back, and complimented her. Scarlet smiled and thanked them, but quickly made her way to a group of her friends that she saw a bit away. They greeted her enthusiastically and hugs were exchanged all around as they rapidly started talking in the way that only teenage girls could.

* * *

Wolf wandered around the large farm. He had just moved to the small town of Rieux with a group of boys from college and he had heard that there was a big festival today. The Harvest Festival. Initially, he wasn't going to go, but the rest of his group was going and he had been persuaded to go by them. He was surprised to find himself enjoying this festival, with all its colors and activities and general liveliness. There was something more wholesome about it than anything he had ever experienced.

He heard some announcement about an opening dance, so he wandered over to where most of the townspeople where milling about. Fast, upbeat music blared through a speaker set on one side of the makeshift stage. He looked at the stage itself and saw about ten girls performing a synchronised dance. They were clearly having fun, as they were smiling and laughing, along with the people standing around the stage watching them.

One girl in particular caught his eye. She was in front and seemed to be dancing with more enthusiasm than the rest. She had wild red hair which had been braided with white flowers. She was wearing tight brown pants and a red shirt. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

As the dance ended, they all left the stage. His eyes followed her. She was chatting with everyone, seemingly comfortable with them. Then she made her way to group of girls of a similar age and rushed to them. They started talking rapidly and he pointedly looked away.

Some of the townspeople were at the dance area, which had apparently been opened up to everyone. Others meandered to the tables now bursting with food. He would check those out later. Still others went to different games, competitions, it seemed like.

He heard a couple of voices near him talking loudly about one of the competitions.

"Who do you think is going to participate in shooting this year?"

"Is that even a question? Scarlet, Michelle, and Gilles? Who else?"

"You never know… maybe this year will be the one for something new to happen…"

Shooting competition? That sounded interesting. He followed them slightly away from the dancing and the food. There, at the edge of the trees was a target, and a long, clear strip of dirt, supposedly where one was supposed to stand. He stood near it, and noticed that others were also gathering. It must be about to start, he concluded. Indeed, a young, well built man walked onto the strip of dirt and addressed the crowd.

"Hey, hey, hey! How are you all doing today?"

The crowd cheered, and Wolf found himself cheering along with them.

"My name is Gilles, and ladies and gentlemen, it's that time of the year! We are about to start the shooting competition. So far, we only have three competitors signed up. Scarlet, Michelle, and me," he announced. "Surprise, surprise," he added dryly. This earned a few chuckles from the assembled crowd. _They must participate every year._

"Would anyone else like to participate?" he asked. The crowd murmured, and another young man stepped out. Wolf groaned inwardly.

"I would like to participate," the man said.

"Wonderful. What's your name?"

"Ran," he said with a wicked grin.

"Well then Ran, since neither Scarlet nor Michelle are here yet, should we start?"

"Let's do this," Ran replied, a dangerous edge to his voice.

Gilles explained the rules briefly, then pulled out a gun, loaded it with some red bullets, and walked over to the marked spot. He put his arm up, aimed, and shot. He shot ten times. Then, Wolf's brother walked over, pulled out his own gun, loaded it with blue bullets that the man handed to him, and then shot ten. After he was done, they both walked over to the target to see who had won. Once they examined the target, they declared Ran the winner of that round. Wolf sighed, growling.

Just then, the same girl from before, the one with red hair, burst through the crowd.

"I'm here, I'm here," she said.

"Scarlet! Wonderful," Gilles said, beaming at her.

So her name must be Scarlet.

"This gentleman," he said gesturing towards Ran, "and I just finished a first round. He won." At this, Ran smiled smugly, and Wolf bared his teeth. "Where's your grandmother?" he asked her.

"She's helping someone with something. She'll be here soon. In the meantime, I can play against him. Then whoever wins can play against Grandma when she gets here," the girl, Scarlet, said. She sounded confident. Did she know how good Ran was?

"Sounds good," Ran told her.

"Great," she said, walking over to the target calmly. Gilles walked over with her. Together, they rolled it to the side and mounted another.

Scarlet gestured for Ran to go first, so he loaded another ten blue bullets and shot. Then Scarlet loaded a gun that Wolf hadn't noticed she'd been carrying, and stood at the line. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she frowned, concentrating. She shot.

As they both walked to the target, along with the man from before, he heard Ran say, "Try not to be too disappointed when I beat you," with an annoying swagger.

"We'll see," she said nonchalantly.

"I don't lose," Ran said challengingly, as if daring her to contradict him.

She simply replied, "Neither do I."

He watched the three confer and point to different spots on the target, before Ran stomped off, and the other man declared Scarlet the winner with a smile. No one in the audience seemed surprised. He hid a smile.

"Now, where is that grandmother of yours?" someone standing near Scarlet asked her.

"I don't know. I'm sure she'll be here soon though," Scarlet replied, unworried.

"Does anyone want to challenge Scarlet while we're waiting for Michelle?" the man asked.

Wolf didn't know why he did it, but he stepped forward, and said "I would love to try."

* * *

Scarlet startled when a large man stepped forward from the crowd and said that he would like to challenge her. He looked similar to the other man she had just challenged, and she wondered if they were related. They both had the same eyes. Gilles smiled and went to replace the target.

"What's your name?" Scarlet asked the man who had challenged her, in an effort to be polite like her grandmother had taught her. He was quite a bit taller than her, even though she was one of the tallest women in town. He was muscular and had messy dark hair. However, unlike the other man, Ran, he seemed rather shy. Interesting combination. Intimidating and shy.

"My name is Wolf," he told her, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Nice to meet you," she said, shaking his hand. It engulfed her own. "I'm Scarlet, as you probably know," she said, grinning. He nodded. She walked over to the table set up on the side and picked up ten red bullets, loading them. Looking over her shoulder, she said, "I assume you have a gun?"

At this, the man started. As if he hadn't realised that he would need a gun for a shooting competition. Scarlet had to stop herself from shaking her head and smiling.

"Actually, I don't carry one around," he told her. A faint blush colored his cheeks. "If I could borrow one…" he asked hopefully.

"Here, you can use mine," Gilles offered, having come up to them without Scarlet noticing.

The man, Wolf, accepted the gun with a bowed head, and wordlessly loaded it with the ten blue bullets. She gestured for him to shoot first.

He went to the line and stood for a moment, seemingly getting used to the weight of the gun, the wind, distance, and whatever else he was measuring. He shot with perfect form, and from what Scarlet could see, his bullets had landed very, very close to center.

But not quite on it. And that was what made the difference.

Scarlet went to the line and shot her ten, then gestured for Wolf and Gilles to follow her to the target. She studied it. She had won, but just barely. Usually she beat all the other townspeople, save her grandmother, by a large margin. This stranger was _good_.

"Wow," Scarlet said, looking at Wolf. "That was _good._ "

"Thanks," he said, shyly looking down. "You still beat me, though."

"Oh, don't take it personally, I beat everyone. Except Grand-mére," Scarlet said, laughing.

Surprisingly, Wolf didn't look offended. He looked like he was about to say something, but was cut off by a booming voice.

"And the winner of that match is… Scarlet Benoit!" Loud cheering ensued from the crowd. She grinned. These people had known her for all her life. Of course they would be partial.

"Well, congratulations again," Wolf said. Scarlet nodded, smiling, and he lumbered off into the crowd.

Her grandmother stepped out from the crowd where she had been watching the competition. She winked at Scarlet as both went to reload their guns.

"Who was he?" Michelle asked Scarlet.

"I don't know. He said he wanted to challenge me when Gilles asked. He must have just moved in, because no one seemed to know him," Scarlet told her truthfully.

"He was handsome," Michelle told Scarlet mischievously.

Scarlet rolled her eyes.

"What, don't you think so?" Michelle pushed.

"I probably won't even see him again," Scarlet told her, trying to end the awkward conversation.

"Wasn't what I was asking," she said with a smile. "So, what do you think?"

"I don't know. He seemed nice," Scarlet replied nonchalantly.

"If you say so," Michelle said, unconvinced.

"Let's get to the shooting, shall we?" Scarlet asked.

"Eager to lose again?" Michelle asked in a rare show of sass.

"Well, you never know," Scarlet said. "There's a first time for everything."

"Keep believing that."

The competition went as planned, and Michelle did beat Scarlet, but she didn't mind. After all the congratulations were recieved, Scarlet slipped her hand into Michelle's. She dragged her grandmother to the dance floor. "Come one, Grand-mére. Let's dance."

* * *

Wolf stared at the crowd, lost on what to do next.

The wining and dining was over already. He had enjoyed a very sumptuous meal, complete with warm bread, soup, pasta, and various desserts. To finish it off, he had sampled various dessert wines. Not enough to get drunk, but he was still feeling a little bit giddy.

Which was good, since the dancing was in full swing out on the field. Couples were dancing together to a slow song. Most were immersed in some form of kissing, but a few were merely swaying back and forth to the music and smiling at each other.

For example, Scarlet seemed to be dancing with her grandmother. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret at this. A small part of him had hoped that he would be able to dance with Scarlet.

The slow song ended, and another one started, this one very lively and upbeat. Scarlet cheered loudly, then started to make her way out of the dance area. _What was she doing?_ She seemed to be approaching him.

Wolf couldn't hide his shock when she stopped in front of him and grinned. "Come _on,_ Wolf, let's dance!" she said.

Wolf gaped, at a loss for words. "Me… and you?"

"Psh, don't be so _serious._ It'll be fun!" she said, extending a hand out.

Stunned, he could do nothing but nod and blush as Scarlet pulled him onto the dance floor. Once they were ensconced, Scarlet threw up her hands and started to dance. She grinned at him expectantly.

Hesitantly, Wolf started to let his body move along to the music. It was awkward at first, and he felt _extremely_ self-conscious. But after a while, he just started to slip into… a rhythm of sorts. The rest of the world just… faded away, save for Scarlet. He smiled. This was actually fun.

" _That's_ more like it," Scarlet said as the song ended. The next song, another upbeat one, started, and she cheered loudly again. Wolf found himself cheering along with her.

The two of them continued to dance. They had somehow made their way to the center of the field, and _everyone_ was watching them, but for some reason, he didn't care. Tonight, he had eyes only for the effervescent girl in front of him, more like an otherworldly being than a human like him.

"You having fun?" she said to him.

"More than I've ever had," he replied. It was true.

"Well then," she smiled, all at once uncharacteristically shy, "come back next year?"

Wolf blinked. "Of course," he grinned. "It's a date."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry for the really short update; I didn't have a solid idea of what I wanted to do, so I just sort of started rambling and ended it when I needed to go do other stuff. :) I hope you like it!**

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The press loved their story.

An ex-Lunar soldier and a trigger-happy French girl.

A symbolic union, a promise of peace and love and loyalty between two estranged orbs hurtling through spacetime at sixty-seven thousand miles per hour.

They loved the story of the emperor and the ex-mechanic, ex-Lunar queen, too.

It symbolized hope, they said. Anything was possible.

But for the four of them, it wasn't about that.

It wasn't about symbols, or unification, or any sort of greater good.

It was a purely selfish reason, one that at a second glance, perhaps wasn't quite so selfish at all.

It was, plain and simple, a four-letter, one-syllable word.

It was so much more than the four letters it contained.

It was joy and heartbreak, fear and euphoria, bliss and exquisite sorrow, all so crystalline and delicate in their perfection that they could break if one looked at them directly.

It was love, and it was the one thing that had held them together, for better or worse.

It was the mingled scents of desperation and deep, gut-wrenching longing, of wonder and elation and giddy, uncontrollable smiles.

It was love, and it was the one thing they had always been certain of.

It was the cacophony created only by steady heartbeats and rapturous silence and shy glances and flushed cheeks.

None of them had ever been so sure of anything, and, at the same time, so frightened of it.

Frightened by the sheer possibility, by its fragility, of its soul-tingling beauty and heart-pounding glory.

They were nothing without it, of that they were sure.

It filled in their cracks and sanded their rough edges and comforted them with melodic, whispered lullabies.

It was their metaphysical glue, stronger than any other, yet also the most easily dissolved and torn apart.

It could withstand hundreds of miles of distance, betrayals and questions hurled into the void, yet it was a delicate adhesive, requiring time and patience and something more.

But it was sweet, and it was gentle, and it was _theirs_.

It was, perhaps, a little selfish. To be willing to do so much for someone and yet not for everyone else.

Perhaps.

But it was also selfless, maybe even noble, to do so much for another.

Their love was something intangible, yet at times, the only thing they could perceive.

It was something indescribable, a feeling that could hit at any time, something like a physical symptom, as if love could be treated with the medicine in a cabinet. It was a physical pain, the tightening of the chest, the closing of the throat, the sheer _emotion_ and _feeling_.

It was absolutely infuriating. Absolutely infuriating, all the ups and downs and sideways sentiments.

It was perfectly imperfect, but that didn't matter.

It was theirs, and that was what counted.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Hello, everyone! Welcome to Kaider! Here's a short, 370 word fic that's sort of in the same style as the previous update. As you can probably tell at this point, I'm not the best at writing pure fluff... but I'll try again tomorrow. :) Thank you especially to 1221bookworm, wavgingthroughawindow, and rowaelinfeyrhys! Your reviews are some of the best parts of my days. :)**

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Cinder had never thought she'd be remembered.

Kai had always known he would be.

Then came the revolution, a chance to do something - to _be_ something - more, something better.

Cinder had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Yet that wasn't what she had thought about.

She had thought about the freedom and joy and wonder of being alive, but most of all, she thought about a pair of brown eyes that crinkled at the corners when they laughed and held all of the warmth in the world.

It may have been a little selfish to choose because of him, but by choosing Kai she chose her cause, and chose her legacy.

Kai had everything to lose and everything to gain.

He thought about Cinder and Konn Torin and Nainsi, flecks of light in a never ending swath of darkness.

He chose Cinder, of course, and in doing so, entwined their destinies permanently.

Permanently. Because he was Emperor Kaito of the Eastern Commonwealth, and she was Queen Selene Channary Jannali Blackburn of Luna, and it was never supposed to happen, or maybe it was written in the stars all along.

And it was so perfectly forbidden and wonderfully right, and in the end they were just Kai and Cinder, and that was enough.

And hundreds of years into the future, when the last wisp of air they had each breathed was circulating on its last wings, their names would be etched into the memories of schoolchildren thousands of miles apart.

Their love had defied everything, and they had defied everything for their love.

You see, they didn't care about their legacies. Didn't care whether their names would be on the lips of children a hundred years from then or would be nothing more than rotting tendrils of hope.

They wanted to do something, anything, more.

They didn't choose immortality.

It chose them.

It is a strange, odd fellow, legacy. Ceaselessly, it follows those who do not seek it, deeming them to be most worthy of its supposed honor.

And so they were immortalized, because of their love. Because of their love that defied the stars.

When they chose their legacy, they chose each other.

When they chose each other, they chose their legacy.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hello everyone! I kind of panicked and just wrote a really short mess of a fic for today, so I hope it's alright. Anyway, a big thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing! Enjoy!**

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Cinder had no idea how she'd gotten into this situation. She vaguely remembered Iko squealing and practically dislocating Cinder's left arm when trying to drag her bodily from the shop they were browsing.

She also clearly remembered getting thrown out of said shop because of Iko's squealing.

"Remind me again why you thought stalking a stranger was a good idea?" she grumbled.

"We're not _stalking_ him," Iko protested, "we just happen to be walking ten feet behind him in the same direction."

"Right," Cinder scoffed.

"Oh, shut up," Iko was practically bouncing. "I want to see where he's going."

The _he_ in question was a particularly handsome male celebrity Iko had been obsessed with for the past few months. Cinder didn't even know what his name was.

She was pulled abruptly into the present when Iko came to a sudden halt.

"He went into a crazy sock shop," she whispered much more dramatically than necessary.

"If you make me follow him, I will change my Netflix password."

Iko looked genuinely shocked.

But, as always, approximately forty-seven seconds later, Cinder found herself browsing through aisles of absurd socks in what Iko called a discreet manner.

She was just turning away from a display advertising alligator socks that would "eat" your ankles, when she crashed into another person.

"Shoot, I'm so sorry," she apologized, then glanced up.

Her heart almost stopped.

It was the celebrity Iko had been stalking (his name was Kai, she now remembered).

And _stars_. He was... very good-looking.

"No, I'm sorry," he flashed her an easy smile. "It was my fault. I'm awfully clumsy - I blame it on these terrible, ugly shoes."

They really _were_ terrible, Cinder had to agree.

"Looking at those socks?" he asked.

"Well, not really," she pressed her lips together. "My best friend wanted to look around, but weird socks aren't really my thing."

"How sad," Kai laughed. "Strange socks are wonders of our modern world."

"Cinder!" a voice called. "Cinder?"

It was Iko, Cinder realized. If she caught Cinder standing here with Kai, she'd never hear the end of it.

"Look, I'm really sorry," she began, "but I have to go."

"Wait," he started, but Cinder cut him off.

"It was nice talking to you," she said. "I hope we meet again sometime."

As she hastily moved away, she felt a small, folded piece of paper being pressed into her hand.

"It was nice meeting you," she heard Kai call out after her.

She had just made it back to the front entrance when Iko appeared.

"Cinder! I just realized, we need to go meet Cress at a coffee shop in fifteen minutes. We need to go now or we'll be late."

Breaking into a swift walk, she motioned for Cinder to hurry. Following, Cinder unfolded the piece of paper.

It had a phone number, and the words: "Text me".

She laughed in surprise.

Her day had just gotten a whole lot better.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: What a wild ride! Thank you to everyone who stuck with me through these three crazy weeks. A huge thanks to wavingthroughawindow for being an incredible friend and posting all of these. *all the hugs and cupcakes in the world* Thanks to rowaelinfeyrhys for your advice and incredible sense of humor - you are truly hilarious and an amazing friend. And thank you to 1221bookworm, for your thoughtful reviews; they gave me the motivation to keep writing when I was stuck. From now on, my updates will be significantly more erratic, but I promise I'll try to update as frequently as possible! And I can't wait to write my Jannali fanfic. I have big things in store for you lovely readers... :) Thank you so much! Have a wonderful day!**

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The world had somehow decided to cram itself into a small, nicely air-conditioned podship smelling vaguely of laundry detergent and lemongrass.

It was, Kai decided, some hassled intern's sloppy attempt at a fresh, clean odor. It was a pity it just about killed the mood.

About half of the given area was decked out in the colors of the Eastern Commonwealth: reds and golds and the like.

The other half was swathed in blues and silvers and purples, colors of the night.

This, Kai knew, was also probably some other intern's idea of of symbolic resonance and something or other, but really, it made the whole affair a bit tacky and cheap.

On the other side of the podship, Cinder stood bedecked in her Lunar royal attire, with a mildly disgusted expression on her face.

It was definitely the smell, Kai laughed inwardly.

In four minutes and thirty-seven seconds, millions of people across Earth and Luna would watch as the two most prominent leaders of the time officially reinstated trade between the two Empires.

It was all very dramatic, Kai mused. Catching Cinder's eye, he pretended to gag on the smell.

Cinder shot him a mock-disapproving look, then pretended to faint.

"Excuse me," a faintly disapproving voice spoke up.

Kai glanced to his left. Their interviewer stood roughly in the center, with an expression to match his voice.

He was a stout, impeccably put-together persona, with a constant air of distaste.

Behind his back, the interns called him the "Balding Bard", for his proclivity to quote Shakespeare.

Pursing his lips slightly, he continued. "I believe we should run through our cues again."

Kai grinned unabashedly at Cinder when the Bard's back was turned.

"First," the man announced, "I will give a brief introduction. You will stand attentively, as the cameras will be alternating between all of us."

Kai caught a flicker of irritation on Cinder's face. She had been vehemently opposed to the whole spectacle.

"Then, you two will simultaneously come to stand in the center of the room and announce how trade has been officially reinstated. Finally, I will conduct an interview about how this will affect intergalactic relations. Is this all clear?"

They nodded.

"Good. We'll begin shortly."

Cinder's flesh hand was anxiously running over her metal one. It was one of her nervous tics, Kai had noticed.

He gave her a reassuring smile and received an eye roll in return.

Some things would never change.

There was a series of frantic gestures on the part of a cameraman, and they were on air.

Kai tuned out the interviewer's words, plastering a bland, amiable expression on his face.

He almost missed his cue.

Hastily stepping forward, he came to a stop next to Cinder.

He wasn't truly present in the moment, as he recited his scripted lines.

It was probably a momentous occasion, Kai mused, but the whole experience was rather ruined by the noxious smell and tacky decor.

They had finished their lines. The camera would stay on them for a few seconds, the leaders of two of the most influential empires.

And so Kai made possibly the most rash, impulsive decision he'd ever made, including his whole stint as a revolutionary.

He leaned over and kissed Cinder, just like that.

In front of millions - no, billions - of people, all witnessing a historic moment.

He pulled away, giving her a smirk.

The cameras had finally pulled away, going to a commercial break.

From the look on the Balding Bard's face, it had been an unforgivable crime.

But catching Cinder's eye, he knew - and knew she felt the same - it would all be worth it.


End file.
